About five and a half years ago I was trying to find a skirt to wear during warm weather, but I couldn’t find anything sensible, especially as I wanted pockets. It seems one has to wear dresses or cut-off trousers during the summer. In the end I decided I would have to make one, so bought a pattern and some material.
Having got them home and looked at them and thought about it I decided the material was too bright and the pattern too complicated so they were put away in a drawer.
About two and a half years ago I still wanted a skirt so got them out again and started cutting out the pieces. I still thought it was too complicated, so the pieces and pattern were put aside.
One year later I started pinning and sewing together the easy bits. The sewing machine that I use was my grandmothers, but it works fine and doesn’t run away with me as electric machines do. Being fairly simple there is not much to go wrong! It is quite heavy though.
Over the next 18 months I gradually did more. Some bits got unpicked several times and the yolk at the back is not quite right as there is a tuck at the base – I found sewing a curve difficult.
The waistband needed a facing and I had to experiment to find out how to use that. Then I had 2 (possibly 3) goes at cutting out and attaching the facing to the right bits. Just about got there in the end.
The next problem was making a buttonhole in the waistband. I looked at my notes from when I was at school but had no explanation for how to do the bound buttonhole and my attempt even then was not good, so I decided it would have to be sewn. I thought that needed practice too, so did some attempts. They were not good (see above) but as they would be mostly covered by the button and the cotton would be the same colour as the material (unlike in the trials) I decided it would have to do. I could do them much more neatly when I was at school – but I didn’t have problems threading needles then, either!
I decided I would use bias binding for the hem and found some of the right colour in my sewing drawer. It was probably either my mother’s or my grandmother’s. Then the thread on the bobbin ran out and I didn’t have enough on the reel to wind a new bobbin.
That meant that I had to go and buy some more thread. I managed to find some of the right colour – but the cotton reels have changed shape! The old thread could also have belonged to my mother or grandmother.
I got a friend to help me get the hem level – not easy to do by oneself. She had been “encouraging” me to get on and make the skirt and was a bit surprised when she saw how far I had got!
I wasn’t sure I would ever get it finished – but I have! It even has pockets. Will I ever wear it? That is a different question! I know all the errors, so am conscious of them. There is also the problem that when I started actually cutting out the pieces I failed to check on the sizes…. It is not going to be possible to wear a shirt tucked into it and is not something to wear if going for a meal!
So? Am I likely to do another major sewing task? Not very likely! I could manage the facemasks during the pandemic, but following a pattern is harder. I still can’t find clothes – especially skirts and blouses that I like, but I don’t think I will try making any more!