Murphy's Law, "If anything can go wrong, it will," can apply to the sewing room, even when there's an expert at the helm of the sewing machine. No amount of sewing experience can protect you from those times when the seam ripper comes out and you smack yourself in the forehead repeatedly! I had one of those days last week.
I've been a busy lady as of late, finalizing my first cotton fabric collection with my company in New York and finishing up my sewing pattern re-releases. After weeks sitting at my computer fussing over graphics files, I found myself in need of a sewing day where I would attend to some samples and a new dress for myself. Ah, they're all easy projects... smooth sailing! I told myself. No, that was the first clue that everything was about to go awry...
First of all, that simple dress I was going to make for myself had been cut out weeks earlier. The pieces were stacked up, marked and ready to sew... or so I thought! When I sewed up the bodice yoke pieces and unfurled them to give them a press for the next step, I found (to my horror!) that the flower motifs in the print made for some... floral pasties! Ohhhh dear. Thank goodness the yoke is lined with the same fabric and I can swap out one of the halves for a flower with a different placement! Note to self and others: When working with large prints that are to be placed in the bust area of a garment, check your print placement to avoid embarassment! I set the dress aside and told myself I'd work on something else.
I had a backup dress to work on! A nice, easy-to-alter 1940s housedress with princess seams (Decades of Style #4002). Pieces were cut and marked, and I zipped through the front and back princess seams, only to find that the side pieces didn't match up! Foiled again! I called my friend for desperate help and, after some talk therapy I realized that I had forgotten to sew the side darts... once that was done, the side pieces matched up perfectly. Note to self and others: Always check off your sewing steps on the pattern instructions so you don't forget important details!
Well! After two frustrating starts and getting nowhere fast, I decided I needed to finish something up to feel that I had accomplished something! I turned to one of my quick zippered bags, which I was testing for an upcoming pattern re-release. This would be easy... the front assembly was already sewn, all I had to do was position the strap and sew the back up to complete it. I positioned, pinned and got it under the needle. I sewed down one side, pivoted perfectly and sewed down the other and.... SNAP! POP! CRUNCH! My needle shattered (good thing I wear big glasses when I sew) and as I grumbled and pulled the bag out of the machine, I realized that I had run out of bobbin at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME. Note to self and others: NEVER sew over a metal zipper stop and ALWAYS check your bobbin before you begin to sew.
That was IT. I quit for the day.
When multiple errors are happening in the sewing room, retreat is usually the better part of valor. It may seem like you're giving up, but we all have days when we're not paying attention or we're tired or maybe you just don't feel like sewing. It is far better to recognize when things aren't working and come back to your work when you're fresh and ready to give sewing your full effort (barring deadlines, of course). I'm back in the sewing room today, ready to sew and I know it'll all go well! There will be no broken needles today... I hope!
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| Don't let this happen to you! |
First of all, that simple dress I was going to make for myself had been cut out weeks earlier. The pieces were stacked up, marked and ready to sew... or so I thought! When I sewed up the bodice yoke pieces and unfurled them to give them a press for the next step, I found (to my horror!) that the flower motifs in the print made for some... floral pasties! Ohhhh dear. Thank goodness the yoke is lined with the same fabric and I can swap out one of the halves for a flower with a different placement! Note to self and others: When working with large prints that are to be placed in the bust area of a garment, check your print placement to avoid embarassment! I set the dress aside and told myself I'd work on something else.
I had a backup dress to work on! A nice, easy-to-alter 1940s housedress with princess seams (Decades of Style #4002). Pieces were cut and marked, and I zipped through the front and back princess seams, only to find that the side pieces didn't match up! Foiled again! I called my friend for desperate help and, after some talk therapy I realized that I had forgotten to sew the side darts... once that was done, the side pieces matched up perfectly. Note to self and others: Always check off your sewing steps on the pattern instructions so you don't forget important details!
Well! After two frustrating starts and getting nowhere fast, I decided I needed to finish something up to feel that I had accomplished something! I turned to one of my quick zippered bags, which I was testing for an upcoming pattern re-release. This would be easy... the front assembly was already sewn, all I had to do was position the strap and sew the back up to complete it. I positioned, pinned and got it under the needle. I sewed down one side, pivoted perfectly and sewed down the other and.... SNAP! POP! CRUNCH! My needle shattered (good thing I wear big glasses when I sew) and as I grumbled and pulled the bag out of the machine, I realized that I had run out of bobbin at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME. Note to self and others: NEVER sew over a metal zipper stop and ALWAYS check your bobbin before you begin to sew.
That was IT. I quit for the day.
When multiple errors are happening in the sewing room, retreat is usually the better part of valor. It may seem like you're giving up, but we all have days when we're not paying attention or we're tired or maybe you just don't feel like sewing. It is far better to recognize when things aren't working and come back to your work when you're fresh and ready to give sewing your full effort (barring deadlines, of course). I'm back in the sewing room today, ready to sew and I know it'll all go well! There will be no broken needles today... I hope!
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