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What I Feel Like When I Sew

After my pajama failure I've taken a break from sewing... I'm not done with sewing--just not sure where to go from here. Hope to get cracking again soon! (This post is scheduled to upload on the first day of my family vacation so I don't plan on posting this Friday like normal)

In the meantime here's a video of what I feel like when I'm sewing.

Pajama Shorts Part 3 (Sew Disappointing)

So this blog is sort of a bittersweet ending so be prepared! I've been working on making some pajama pants (and yes it's taken me 3 days so far but I have a job!) I woke up this morning ready to start sewing.

I started where I left off yesterday looking at the instructions and the fabric and just being horribly confused for an extended period of time.

Do those instructions make immediate sense to anyone? I spent a good chunk of time today contemplating what they meant by that and what I should do. There was a spot on the pattern that was indicated as the cutting line on the left side. But was I supposed to cut it or not? The picture shows it still attached at the bottom so do I just cut a slit? If that was the case why did the line on the pattern show it going all the way through?  My final verdict was that it was the area you cut if you were working with a smaller size so I took my chances--told myself that it was okay to make a mistake and cut it off completely. (If that was the wrong thing someone tell me so I don't make that mistake again!)

 On to the sewing! I pinned the short legs as it showed being sure to line it up perfectly

 When it's lined up right the triangle marks you made earlier should match up--this was a huge relief to see that I was doing something right.

Next came the actual sewing, I read about this sewing hack to help you stay on your seam allowances. You put a rubber band around your machine on the line that measures allowances so it's easier to see and follow.

 Next I pressed the seams so they would lay flat. I did the same thing with the other leg.

*****

This is the point where I realized this wasn't exactly going to be a success. I took both the legs and tried them on and realized that there was not enough fabric to cover my--how do I say.. my ample derriere. So much disappointment. I've just spent the good part of 3 days on something that won't even fit me!

In an earlier post I talked about my bizarre, impromptu way of measuring myself in the fabric store and I would like you to know that the next day I used my measuring tape and that I was close enough that I had indeed bought the right amount of fabric and used those measurements to pick what size I would be using.  So when I realized there was no way my assets would be fitting in these shorts I got extremely upset.

I ran to look at my measurements again and compared them to the the pattern measurements; thinking I must have looked at it wrong--but no I'd deciphered the pattern correctly. Next, I went to measure myself again thinking that perhaps I done it wrong...and that's when I realized they never had me measure my behind--just my hips.  So I took that measurement and sure enough my hip measurement is a small but my bum measurement is more befitting a medium/large.

*****

At this point I was so angry that I gave the sewing project the silent treatment, sat down on my couch and watched a TV show.  By the time the show ended, a lot of my frustration had melted away and I decided I got this far so I might as well finish and could give them to someone with a normal sized butt.  I tried to tell myself this was a good thing because when I do make them for myself I'll already know what I'm doing.  So I pressed onward.

I wasn't as good at taking pictures at this point because I'd lost a lot of the enthusiasm but you line up the legs one flipped inside out inside the other leg and you sew along the curve of the crotch and up one side (what will become the back), then sew another seam line closer to the edge through just the  crotch--I imagine this gives it a little more strength because your crotch seam probably takes a lot of stress when you sit and walk around. (I've been saying crotch a lot and it seems weird... crotch... that's what the pattern refers to it though!)  (Crotch, what a funny word!) You press open that seam. 

The crotch pinned and ready to sew

Next I realized I didn't transfer the folding lines onto the fabric from the pattern so I had to go back, line up the pattern and make those marks. This is where I really kind of just did my own thing because the instructions were really confusing and I just didn't really have the heart to try to figure out what they were trying to say. I think I got pretty close and it seems pretty correct in any case!

I folded over the edges on both sides so they matched the little line I'd made part way through--and pressed that, then basted the edge (basting is loose stitches that can come out easy--usually you do it by hand, it just helps keep things in place until you actually sew it). Next I folded one side to the larger fold line and pressed.  Then I overlapped the two front pieces and sewed along the curved sewing line and back up the front. Done. Completed! 

I don't want to take the time to sew the waistband on this project just yet, and instead plan to work on making shorts that will actually fit me.  I'm not quite sure how to go about it though because a medium or large won't fit me as well anywhere else.  I plan to do a lot of research and figure out what the best course of action will be!

Anyone else have a problem with the sizing like this? What do you do to make adjustments? Should I just make a larger size and then try to tailor it tighter? Or do you make adjustments to the right size pattern? 

Most importantly: how do you get over your sewing failures/disappointments? (This project had me hesitant to start sewing again for a good week or so.)