Slow Day

With a sick little girl

and a Winter storm warning

it seemed best to stay indoors and tackle my least favorite part of sewing--tracing the pattern pieces, cutting them out of tissue and then cutting out the fabric

There is a post at Poshyarns where she writes about how not being able to read the Japanese is sometimes freeing, that it gives her permission to change and adapt the patterns. I have to agree with this--I'm not sure what exactly it is, maybe just the simplicity of many of the patterns, but I've found that in the past two years my sewing has taking a creative aspect I'd never fully explored before. I find myself taking the different pattern pieces and putting them together in new ways--the sleeve from one, the bodice from another, mixing things up and coming up with new designs.

I got the wrap dress pattern from ISBN 4579110544, but adapted the way it ties after seeing a photograph in the Winter issue of Cotton Friend..  The one tie passes through a buttonhole under the arm, both ties cross in the back and tie in the front. This is the other larger size dress I made for my shop, it's available here.

Comments

[Amanda]

I hope Ivy is feeling better soon. You are too, I hope? We've got the fever here too, Max is miserable.

I both like and hate the tracing/cutting step. If I remember to treat it as a separate step, I can get into drawing the long, sweeping lines and doing the curving cuts. But if what I really want to do is just to start sewing, then the time it takes to trace, pin, and cut is agonizing.

Interesting thought about not reading Japanese being freeing. I'm still at that frustrated stage because I want to know what it says, perhaps if I can get as much experience as you I'll just let it go and enjoy. Something to look forward to!