Thursday, February 7, 2013

Owl Pants Make Me Sad.

           People aren't perfect. This statement is incredibly prevalent in the world of sewing. I've had my share of blunders when it comes to life and sewing... but the life ones are for a different time on a different blog. Today I'm going to share my most ridiculous fails when it comes to sewing in hopes that my sorrow may brighten your day in a form of schadenfreude. 
           My first big mistake was the time I tried sewing a tan dress with a braided belt and a sweetheart neckline. It looked marvelous when it was finished, but it took me a while to get there. You see, while I was sewing the top and waist together, I actually sewed the bottom of the skirt in as well. Basically what I ended up with was a strange romper effect... minus the leg holes. However, the crisis was averted thanks to my dearest friend: seam ripper. 
          Another nightmare of sewing I experienced was when I began sewing my first tulle dress for a winter formal dance at school. Oh boy was that a disaster. I ended up hand sewing the tulle on in a process that took an hour and a half after I broke three needles in fifteen minutes by machine. Once I had finally finished I tried it on. It was beautiful. There were black roses on the top and black tulle sticking out from the bottom with a red sash in the center. There was only one problem. I turned and looked in the mirror and realized I appeared to be 9 months pregnant. The tulle stuck out so far it actually made me look like I had a bowling ball taped to my stomach. Needless to say I bought a dress for that dance instead.
         My final major sewing disaster (so far) occurred while sewing four sets of owl pajama pants. My mother was paying me to sew a pair for each of my siblings and I so she could give them to us for Christmas. Now, in theory, this was an adorable idea. Who doesn't want four children in matching homemade pajama owl pants? So my mother took me to the fabric store and we found a cute fabric and I began construction. What basically led to my downfall was the fact I eyeballed all the measurements. Mine and my little brothers turned out great because we're the same size. However, when I got to my older brother's I used way too much fabric. The top ended up going well past his belly button and the bottom piled up on the floor. I guess he's not as tall as I thought he was. After using so much fabric for him, I ran out of fabric for my sister's pajama pants. I asked my mother to take me back to the fabric store and buy more fabric. Once we got that fabric, I managed to sew it half inside out and, while seam ripping, tear the fabric into two pieces. This resulted in my father having to secretly take me back to the store to get even more fabric, I didn't want my mother to know that I'd ruined the fabric she'd just bought. Eventually I managed to sew a full set of pajama pants that looked rather decent. Me and my little brother love wearing ours, my older brother can't fit into his, and my sister can't wear hers because they ended up being the wrong size in the end. They were pretty pitiful Christmas presents, and I still can't look at those pants without laughing/feeling as if I've died inside.
          These stories are not only embarrassing, but they are also very helpful. It shows that I've still got a lot of learning to do before I can become a famous designer. And even then, the best designers still goof up sometimes. I think it's completely fine to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them afterwards. Let's just say I've done a lot more learning than I shared. 

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