Bookworm's Musings

Well, I finished the Sedona Skirt on Thursday.
( See Pictures )

Total Cost, including Pattern, not counting labor or cutting errors: $32.72

I think it looks pretty darn good, especially for a first project!
As you can see, I top-stitched all the seams, which was rather nerve-wracking, since mistakes would show! Because of a cutting error, the diagonal lines are facing in the opposite direction from the pattern. Also, I accidentally got the waistband elastic pocket about 1/8" too large - I'll know better next time.
The waistband is the one time where I deviated from the instructions - instead of installing the elastic by placing it under the fabric fold and sewing along the edge while stretching, I made the pocket first and then threaded the elastic through. I don't know if that effected how the waistband looks or not, since I've never done it the other way. Still, I tend to wear my shirts untucked, so it doesn't really matter.
In the future, I need to pin and sew the panels together from the bottom up, not the top down. That way, the hemline will be perfectly even without needing to stretch any of the pieces, which is what I think happened this time and why a few of the seams appear slightly shorter than the others. That sort of problem will be much easier to hide in the waistband.
For the next skirt, I'm thinking of adding about 2" of width to each panel, allowing for more elegant draping and folding. We'll see.
This pattern, however, is most definitely a keeper! It was very easy to sew and the end result is very beautiful.
The only thing to look out for is the cutting layout: the pieces are asymmetric and cannot be cut on folded fabric.

I just finished another impulse project today. I made a wrap-around skirt/swimsuit cover from a lovely piece of fabric that I bought for just $0.50 at a yard-sale. The fabric was about 1 & 1/2 yards long and almost as wide (at first glance, it looked like a perfect square). I measured from my ankle to my waist, added 2 & 1/2" for the waistband, and cut the fabric so that I could use the selvage as the hem. Then I put a very narrow hem on the raw edges of the sides, then made a deep hem as the waistband. Next, the waist ties, which were very easy to make. And tada! Wrap-around. Because I have wide hips, it doesn't fall to my ankles anymore, but it's length is perfect and exactly what I wanted. Basically, this is meant for casual wear around the house. It's so hot here that I wear as little as possible in private, but I still need to be a little more covered in the public areas of the house, and the wrap is very handy for that. No picture this time, but I'm very pleased with the finished product. I also made myself a flaxseed snake. Stick it in the freezer, and when you take it out, you have a nice, flexible ice pack for cooling off. I plan to make another tomorrow so that I will always have a cold one.

So, I finished my first sewing project today (well, I finished the test muslin for the skirt, but that doesn't count). I made a set of curtains for my bedroom window.
( See the Picture )
As you can see, the curtains turned out great. In fact, I think they look store-bought. I used 2 yards of navy blue wool that I got at a yardsale for $4.00, and lined them with two yards of muslin. I didn't use a pattern, simply eyeballed it. I actually cut it so that I didn't have to hem the sides - I just used the selvage instead, which cut down on the work and helped them drape so nicely. This was an impulse project brought on by finding the wool, but it worked out beautifully. The curtains should help keep the heat out and the cool in. It only took me about an hour to finish these, and most of that time was spent ironing, not sewing.
Total cost, not counting labor: $8.00.