I was taught sewing machine basics by my mother at the age of 8. Since then I have sewn curtains, tablecloths, even bags. I have shortened hems, tapered and mended dozens of clothes but it never occurred to me that I can sew a garment. Until last year that is, when I took a sewing and pattern drafting class (How that happened belongs to another blog post).
Truth be told, at the beginning I didn’t make much. The lack of time and fear of failure have left me only with a couple of T-shirts for my kids and a skirt for me, that due to a bad choice of fabric I made, it was never worn and I gave up trying.
During spring I started rethinking it and I decided that I had nothing to lose, beside my time and a few meters of fabric. So I drafted a basic sloper pattern using my measurements. I tested it, I determined that it didn’t fit me so I gave up again persisted until I made it work (luckily my teacher helped me)
Next step was using the sloper to design the garment that I wanted, in this case a button up shirt. I drafted two patterns. The first one had a lose fit, with a box pleat in the back and short sleeves. The second was more fitted with darts and long sleeves with cuffs.
And now I can finally joyously declare:
I DRAFTED AND SEW MY OWN BUTTON UP SHIRTS!
Of course they are not perfect but I love them and I am very proud for them! The one with the short sleeves I have worn a few times (the other one is too warm so it will be worn at fall)
So, I am starting on a new adventure and if you have any tips, please share it.