In Which I Lost My Sewing MoJo....

Dear Readers,

         It is with deep regret that I post again and confess that sometimes my sewing nearly does me in. This is the sad story of an unfortunate project that has haunted my sewing room and closet and mind for over three months. It is time now to come clean and move on. 

I purchase my first Japanese pattern book this spring, "Feminine Wardrobe" by Jinko Matsumoto. (ISBN: 978-1-78067-124-6) It was one of the few available in my area in English and where the projects didn't look to young or to "thin". In other words, there were a couple choices that might be alright for me. 

I chose this project. It's a shift dress. I thought I'd look at a properly drafted shift after my mediocre attempt of self-drafting with my retro Vogue look. It's called the ribbon shoulder shift in Matsumoto's book.

I chose to make this in size L. It should be noted that the traced patterns are net patterns. You have to add the seam allowances! I chose a  linen where the warp was cream thread and the weft black. The fabric registered as a greyish tweed. You can see some of here in the corner of the first photo. 

Here's some detail of the shoulder seam before the ribbons are added. The larger seam allowance is stitched down on either side of the seam to make two parallel casings for some elastic.

The directions in the book are very good and easy to follow. The drafting is precise. The dress went together like a dream. Everything worked! I was very pleased with the pattern.

Until....I put the dress on. All of the life drained out of me in less that 3 seconds. There standing before the mirror was an overgrown house elf wearing a grey pillow case. Dear God, what an unholy mess! This is perfect example of A+ execution and D- fashion sense. The dress is relegated to wearing on excessively hot and humid days, after my shower and before my PJ's....but only reluctantly. It really should go straight into the bin as it doesn't look good on me.  Really, it's much worse that this photo makes it out to be and wearing it makes me feel like an zombie extra in a post apocalyptic low budget film.

Let me make myself perfectly clear, I really don't have any complaints against the book or pattern itself. I got exactly what was pictured and on me, that wasn't good.





Garment Finish:
    A The pattern was easy, clear and precise.
Fit:                            
    B-  Considering my bust, a Japanese large size, was okay.
Material Choice:          
   D - I made a poor color choice and the linen became limp and soft on washing.
Style and Wearability -
   F The shift is not for me body type! Move away from this silhouette!

Overall: C-   I need to move on.

....and it  was the moving on that proved the greatest inertia in my work room this spring. I just couldn't bring my self to risk another style disaster like this one. And so I've spent nearly three months gathering the scattered sewing  mojo from between the threads on the sewing room floor.