I do not know what came over me, but a few weeks ago I decided it would be a great idea to make my daughter's Halloween costume. And, because Frozen has trapped my children in an unending blizzard of 'Let it Go' and ice castle fantasies, she wanted to be Elsa. Queen Elsa with a wonderful, whimsical, flowy dress and cape.
That can't be that hard, I thought to myself. I'll just get the pattern and follow it. It's a Simplicity pattern, I can read, and I've made some pajama pants before, so I'm sure it can't be that difficult. Go for it, I told myself! It'll be great practice in expanding my sewing skills. It'll be fun, I said.
So, I bought the pattern online (it was sold out at the store), and my daughter anxiously asked every day if it had arrived. The day finally came when it arrived in the mail, and happiness filled my daughter to the core. We drove to pick out our fabric, and were lucky enough to get the last bit of the snowflake chiffon stuff of which some lady had just purchased 10 yards! We left the store with the beautiful, shimmering blue satin and sequin filled fabric, and filled great anticipation and joy of what would become of the glorious fabric in our bag. Well, at least my daughter was. I was beginning to second guess my choice in trying to make a fancy gown with a zipper. A ZIPPER! What was I thinking?
It needed to start immediately. In the event it was a complete disaster I would need time to buy a costume before they sell out because I bet about 75% of little girls will transform into Anna or Elsa this October. I cut out the patterns and got everything ready to go. Well, as it turns out, sewing sequins, satin and chiffon is SO NOT like quilting! I knew that would be the case, but I just do not have the patience for it! The chiffon could not be ironed and when I made mistakes, it was so delicate that it stretched and snagged easily.
I got so fed up with trying to sew those damn chiffon sleeves on, messing up, ripping out the seams and wrecking the fabric that I gave up and now Elsa has a sleeveless gown. Since I was sewing this for Queen Elsa of Texas, sleeves would probably be too hot. She'll just have to deal with it.
Every time I sew a pattern, I realize how much I don't know about sewing. I don't know terms, I can't seem to figure out how the diagram shows the explanations, and so I spend A LOT of time re-reading the steps, studying the diagrams, comparing it to my garment-in-progress and wondering if I've done the whole thing backwards! I also spend a fair amount of time searching for sewing terms and watching Youtube videos. Thank you, Lord, for Youtube. How did anyone ever figure anything out before there was an endless supply of instructional videos at your fingertips? I now know what a French Seam is, and I learned how to use my zipper foot on my sewing machine. So I guess it was all totally worth it. Right?
I finished the dress. And it looks like a dress. And the zipper is FULLY FUNCTIONAL!! I didn't really enjoy the process of sewing the dress (I love the entire process of sewing a quilt), but I love the end product. Just don't look too close because mistakes are plentiful, but it's just fine for a Halloween costume. The joyful expression on my daughter's face was totally worth it all, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (although maybe we'll pick a capeless dress next time!) :-)
That can't be that hard, I thought to myself. I'll just get the pattern and follow it. It's a Simplicity pattern, I can read, and I've made some pajama pants before, so I'm sure it can't be that difficult. Go for it, I told myself! It'll be great practice in expanding my sewing skills. It'll be fun, I said.
So, I bought the pattern online (it was sold out at the store), and my daughter anxiously asked every day if it had arrived. The day finally came when it arrived in the mail, and happiness filled my daughter to the core. We drove to pick out our fabric, and were lucky enough to get the last bit of the snowflake chiffon stuff of which some lady had just purchased 10 yards! We left the store with the beautiful, shimmering blue satin and sequin filled fabric, and filled great anticipation and joy of what would become of the glorious fabric in our bag. Well, at least my daughter was. I was beginning to second guess my choice in trying to make a fancy gown with a zipper. A ZIPPER! What was I thinking?
It needed to start immediately. In the event it was a complete disaster I would need time to buy a costume before they sell out because I bet about 75% of little girls will transform into Anna or Elsa this October. I cut out the patterns and got everything ready to go. Well, as it turns out, sewing sequins, satin and chiffon is SO NOT like quilting! I knew that would be the case, but I just do not have the patience for it! The chiffon could not be ironed and when I made mistakes, it was so delicate that it stretched and snagged easily.
I got so fed up with trying to sew those damn chiffon sleeves on, messing up, ripping out the seams and wrecking the fabric that I gave up and now Elsa has a sleeveless gown. Since I was sewing this for Queen Elsa of Texas, sleeves would probably be too hot. She'll just have to deal with it.
Every time I sew a pattern, I realize how much I don't know about sewing. I don't know terms, I can't seem to figure out how the diagram shows the explanations, and so I spend A LOT of time re-reading the steps, studying the diagrams, comparing it to my garment-in-progress and wondering if I've done the whole thing backwards! I also spend a fair amount of time searching for sewing terms and watching Youtube videos. Thank you, Lord, for Youtube. How did anyone ever figure anything out before there was an endless supply of instructional videos at your fingertips? I now know what a French Seam is, and I learned how to use my zipper foot on my sewing machine. So I guess it was all totally worth it. Right?
I finished the dress. And it looks like a dress. And the zipper is FULLY FUNCTIONAL!! I didn't really enjoy the process of sewing the dress (I love the entire process of sewing a quilt), but I love the end product. Just don't look too close because mistakes are plentiful, but it's just fine for a Halloween costume. The joyful expression on my daughter's face was totally worth it all, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (although maybe we'll pick a capeless dress next time!) :-)
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