Sunday, August 26, 2012

2 down, 3 to go!

I have finished the starlet suit!  I am happy!  Well, I'm almost always happy, but it's great to finish this project.  

Yesterday was my 51st birthday & we went to see Al Green @ Wolf Trap w/ friends.  It was a great concert, but I have to admit that, as I only had 4 (of 5) buttons to sew on, and I hadn't had a chance all week as we were busy Wednesday (gym) and Thursday (friends visiting), I thought, "Do we have to go to the concert?"  But we went, so I finally got a chance to finish this evening after another set of friends (visiting from NYC) went off to a wedding.  Yay!  Finished!

Here are some thoughts about the course & the pattern & the process & the experience.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed Gretchen's class.  She is an excellent teacher & a lot of fun, too (I think her giggle should be a ringtone).  I appreciated her honesty and helpful hints.  
Bella helps find
a pattern piece.

2.  I wish Gretchen would use the numbers when she refers to pattern pieces.  There are a lot of pieces and sometimes I had trouble finding the ones she was talking about (sometimes she doesn't use the exact same name).  Referring to a pattern piece name and number would make finding them a bit easier, especially if you don't have a huge sewing space & can't lay out all the patterns separately.   

3.  I usually watched a class (or part of a class), just to see if I needed to do any prep and also to get an idea of what was coming in the class.  Then, after I did the set-up (put in darts, stay stitch curves, etc.), I'd watch while trying to do the work with Gertie.  Using the pause button a lot & back-tracking a lot.  

3A. Which brings up another point:  I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet, and I often watched the classes on it.  It works great, but there's no slider to move the class back a bit or forward a bit.  So if I paused in the middle of a class, I'd have to watch the first part again to get back to the portion I wanted.  I know that things don't always work great with tablets, but it would sure be a nice feature, especially as I have friends who only have tablets now (no laptop).  

4.  I learned soooo much!  A lot of which I may never use again, but at least I know how to do it.  And so many things I will use again, i.e., bound buttonholes & tailor's tacks* & favoring a seam* & putting in a lining.  I want to make a few cotton jackets & the work I did on modifying this pattern piece to fit me will be so useful.  

I made an effort to be careful, but I can't say I'm going to win any awards at the county fairs anytime soon.  My mom says that they used to judge the back/inside of all handmade projects & the back had to look as good as the front.  No way not ever; I'm just not that neat or good at the handwork.  

Now to make a gored & lined skirt to match.  Before winter!  

All in all, I recommend this class if you'd like to learn what tailoring is, and how it's done. 

*I keep thinking of things I learned.  The asterisks are what I thought of after I first posted this!  

5 comments:

  1. Karen, well done!!!! It's looking fabulous and you look pleased with it too. Happy birthday...belatededly too. I still have to get a shift on with even planning in this class, but seeing your jacket, and how you have persevered to get something custom fitting and well made is making me pause for thought....it's great, you should be proud :-)

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    1. Thanks; I could have finished it sooner but felt like I needed to watch most of the classes at least twice, so that slowed me down. Also, I like to have a big block of time (2-3 hrs) to work, and that doesn't happen on many evenings, so I'm restricted to weekends. I'll be curious to see what gorgeous fabric you choose for your Starlet Suit!

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  2. Congratulations on finishing your jacket. You look really happy and the jacket looks great too.

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  3. Thank you!

    I've now got the 2 easy UFOs finished. On to the challenges...

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  4. Oh wow, it's lovely! Looks from here like it fits really well. Really gorgeous xx

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