Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Adventures in Sewing.....

One of my summer goals this year was to sew something from a pattern. You know, a "real" pattern.... the kind you buy at the fabric store. I had bought a few patterns earlier this summer when they were having a $0.99 sale, and so a couple of weeks ago, I sat down, opened one up and got ready to begin. Until I realized that I did not have the faintest clue how to read the pattern. It was written in some sort of secret sewing code that I apparently can not understand. Then I realized that unless I wanted to cut the pattern into pieces and mutilate it so that it could never be used again, I didn't even know how to get the pattern onto my fabric (rookie!). I eventually did some research and got that part figured out, but was still completely overwhelmed by how to approach this pattern business.
So what did I do? Did I stick it through and give it a try? Did I call a sewing-guru friend for help? Nope. I signed up for a sewing class through the community college that I teach at (so the class will be free for me). It starts at the end of the month, and I will patiently wait until someone can explain how these things work before I try and tackle it on my own.
In the meantime, I tried to prove to myself that I didn't really need a pattern anyways, and could totally whip up a cute dress for Miss P on my own, pattern-free. So, instead of sitting down with a pattern, I sat down with my imagination to stick it to those pattern writers.
And, I made a dress. It looks pretty cute, but doesn't exactly fit the way I had intended... it was supposed to be sleeveless, and instead has sort of capped sleeves. The armholes are also a bit too tight. But it fits. And I didn't have to stress out trying to de-code a pattern. Yet.
Pin It Now!

3 comments:

  1. Oh I HATE pattern language!!! What is it? A special club? Whatever! I'll call my mom and say, "what does this mean", and she'll explain it in easy terms. Why can't the pattern just say it that way?! I've noticed that the patterns I've bought online, which you then print, are usually made by mamas like us and are VERY readable and easy to follow. However, they're usually also pricey. I guess you pay for convenience. yay for your class! I'd love to take one. Can't wait to see what you make in it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. She looks so cute in her little dress- what a smile!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a cute dress! You did good, Mama! I hope you enjoy your sewing class. My mom taught me to sew when I was a little girl, and I don't use that skill as much as I'd like. I always say I need to start a new quilt, or a new dress, but then life gets in the way... Soon.

    ReplyDelete