A Year of Selfish Sewing--Month 1

This is the year I finally buckle down and follow through with my intentions to make things for me. I'll still sew for the business of course, my family and home, but I've been saying I'll make myself some clothes and only manage one or two pieces a year. I also tend to rush through them, as if I don't deserve the attention to detail that I give to everyone else.


Not anymore.


I've set myself a goal that over the next 12 months, I will make one new item for myself each month. That means by Thanksgiving 2016 I should have 12 new items. At least. The list includes more than clothing, but clothing is the priority.


I've already started with November! Some of you may have seen sneak peeks on Instagram (if you're not yet following @dancingthreadsri and you're reading this blog, you totally should!).

Not only am I sewing pretty new things for me, I'm stretching my skills with each project. First up: an A-line skirt. Not so tricky, I've made them before. BUT, this one calls for an invisible zipper which is completely new to me. Guess what? It wasn't that tricky after all. Here are some pics.

Can you tell I have a long way to go in order to get comfortable in front of the camera?

Using a linen blend fabric, I wanted to make sure I finished all the interior seams. I plan to wear this a lot!

The fabric I chose was a bit thin, so it needed a lining. Not wanting a fully separate lining since the pattern didn't call for one, I basted some muslin to the main pieces of the skirt. Basically, I cut the pattern out twice, once in the linen, once in muslin, then stitched the main fabric to the matching muslin piece with a few seams with very long stitch lengths (#4.5 on my machine) that held everything together. Then I treated the joined pieces as one. When the construction was finished, I pulled out the basting stitches. It seems to have worked quite well!

My not completely-invisible zipper. Not bad for my first attempt.

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A few darts complete the A-line silhouette.

When you're honest about your measurements and follow a pattern using the written seam allowances, it's amazing that clothing can turn out fitting like a glove.