Sewing Day - And A New Skill

I didn't do any quilting again today, but I did do something new and interesting. Some years ago I bought a book called Make Your Own Patterns by Rene Bergh. I had run onto it without knowing such a thing existed, and grabbed it on a whim, assuming that it would be extremely useful, especially for SCA garb. It languished on my bookshelf for years, but now I have occasion to use it.

I'm in this new-garb-making mode this year, but I'm sick of purchased patterns - one, I can rarely find any I like, and (b), it's extremely difficult for me to get commercial patterns that fit properly. I've managed the unfeminine feat of being about two and a half different sizes between my neck and my knees. Commercial patterns require so much fixing, I may as well make my own - and in fact, without that knowledge, didn't even know how to fix the commercial patterns.

I want to make a special outfit for an event in May, and I couldn't find any type of pattern even close to what I had in mind. So I finally broke out Rene's book today.

Well. It took me all day, but I did in fact get a pattern made for a bodice and skirt. I made the patterns on the white side of some Christmas wrapping paper that was laying around upstairs, not put away. It was a perfect thing to use ... it could be unrolled to be as big as I needed it to be, it's heavy enough to be sturdy, but not so heavy as to be difficult to work with. And it's festive!

I made a mock-up of the bodice out of some muslin I had. The first run through had a few minor issues, so I adjusted the pattern, and made a second mock-up, which fit much better. The only issue I didn't get resolved today is the neck opening ... for some reason, in both tries it came out way too small. Not sure what I did wrong there, but I'm confident I can fix it.

I also made the pattern for a four panel skirt, which I can use for a variety of purposes in SCA garb. But I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to try actually sewing a mock-up of that.

I am really impressed with this!! Having a garment pattern that is custom fit to my body is the most amazing thing. It looked really good, and it was very comfortable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who sews and has some knowledge of putting commercial patterns together, and has trouble finding commercial patterns they like or that fit well. You do need the knowledge of sewing with patterns, because the book only teaches you how to make your own - not how to put them together.

I chose a basic bodice and skirt for beginnings, because they are highly adaptable to anything I want to make. They can be combined into one dress, or used separately for different things. With some trial and error and some creativity, I should be able to design some cool outfits this year.

That's the plan, anyway. Photos as the garb (hopefully not garbage) gets created.