a dress

I've always wanted to be able to sew. My life thusfar has consisted of little spurts of sewing, each spurt has lead to a lumpy twisted garment/bag/mess because there is something that I just can't seem to get about sewing. It's mysterious to me...just like math...sigh. Luckily, I seem to be blindly determined to learn, and continue to take on projects in spite of the string of disappointing items I have produced. My latest foray into the sewing world has been my most successful. Hooray!



On a whim (this is how I seem to do everything) I purchased a few patterns from the extremely dangerous purlsoho.com. My highest achievement in sewing previously was a laundry hamper liner, so you can understand the linear progression to a dress...or probably not. To make matters worse, the pattern is Japanese; not a word of English on the entire thing! This little sanity blip can probably be explained by my growing desire to live in Japan, speak Japanese and understand just how the happy iron in my pattern plans to guide me through the project (so cute). Luckily, working at a knitting store connects me with crafty folks from all disciplines, and a friend who is an extremely skilled seamstress volunteered to guide me through the dress. If it weren't for her, my fabric would certainly be in a helpless wad in the back of my closet by now...instead it looks like this...



...So far I have made bust darts, pleats, and some very cool seams (can't remember what they're called!) All that's left to do is put in the zipper, sew the side seams, hem and finish some seams on the inside. And I THINK that will all be pretty simple.
This project has really boosted my sewing confidence, and I'm already planning my next project; another Japanese pattern, this time a skirt. I am dieing to buy the fabric, but won't allow myself until the dress is done. I think it'll be pretty fun to go into the shop wearing my dress. I'm envisioning bolts of fabric and rulers clanking on the floor as everyone in the store drops what they are doing to admire my new dress, but I somehow doubt that will be the case.