I've been dreaming of a bright yellow dress for years, and a leisurely Saturday seemed like a good time to get sewing. No pattern, no fear! Also no clue.
First problem was the geriatric Singer. I'm not sure when it arrived in our family, but my mum seems to think it was a birthday gift when I was five. So that makes it at least twenty-*coughmumblecough* years old. It hadn't been used in about 18 months, and on setting it up, I discovered it had become a well-loved but impractical paperweight.
So being the talented repairwoman and overly-optimistic soul that I am, I decided to take it apart and see what was wrong with it.
As you can see, not only do I not know what I'm doing, but I also got the make of the machine wrong. See those letters? They spell out J-A-N-O-M-E. No wonder my spare parts never fit.
Luckily, I had a can of WD-40 and an overgrown Boy Scout at my disposal.
Between the two of us, we got the case off and discovered that the main crank-thingy had seized up through lack of use. Cue the WD-40! Seriously, that stuff is awesome. Never sew without it!
Once the machine was working again, Boy Scout went to watch some splosions on the telly, and I got sewing. And ripping. And sewing. I'd fudged a pattern by cutting around an old dress, and ad-libbed the cowl neck (well, it saves putting in a zip, doesn't it?), so I was pretty much putting it in the cut-and-sew-til-it-seems-right school of clothing making. I'm not sure I'll ever graduate from that class to the real "uses a pattern" sewer.
Anyway... a few dodgy seams and a couple of glasses of vino later, Voila... my fabled yellow dress! (scuse shockingly awful lighting and blur... it appears BoyScout may have had some vino too.)
Apparently it makes me look like Velma from Scooby Doo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they meant this Velma, not that one... but I think the results really speak for themselves!
* Also shown: CitySlickerCat, who really liked my boots.
that is fantastic! you do a great job for someone who doesn't sew very often, I'd never be able to do that.
Michelle
Posted by: michelle tourigny | March 24, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Thanks Michelle... but the dodgy lighting and strategically-placed cat do hide a few flaws! On the whole I am very pleased though.
And my next challenge will be to make another dress like it for my housemate!
Posted by: Clementine | March 24, 2010 at 07:57 PM