Trial and Error
On the exercise front, I went out for my first 1.5-mile-run yesterday afternoon. I made it through the first mile and felt like I might hurl (I stupidly chose a route that has a pretty significant hill). As I was hunched over, concentrating on not losing my lunch, I decided to adjust my 8-week schedule to include one extra week (this week). Instead of attempting 1.5 miles this week, I'll cut it down to just one. Then next week, I will start up with the original routine. I'm not discouraged, in fact today is my rest/walk day and I plan on going for a stroll this afternoon after a snack.
After my run, I got right to work on cutting out pieces for my first attempt at making cute summer clothes. Cutting out the pieces is the easy part, but even that was a bit challenging -- I was pretty sure the pattern maker was on crack when laying out the placement diagram. I had to improvise a bit, but luckily it worked out just fine. This morning I made a stiff cup of coffee and got right to work on sewing.
Almost immediately, I was happy that I decided to make the shirt out of muslin first. Once I pieced together the front and back, I realized that I was going to have to make some major alterations. I had to cut the pattern one size larger than I needed to accommodate my bust line, which meant that I had to take in seams in other places. Also, I'm a lot shorter from my shoulder to my bust line than the pattern called for, so I had to take up the slack accordingly. I usually have this very same problem when I buy clothes off the rack -- I need a hybrid between petite and regular sizes.
Overall, I'm pretty excited about the outcome. Of course it's hard to tell on the dummy, but it really does fit very well. I'm glad I survived all of the altering and ripping out (lots) of seams. It makes me a little sad that my next step will be to take the whole thing apart so I can use the altered muslin as pattern pieces for the real thing. However, the uncomfortable afternoon spent wrapped up like a duct tape sausage has already paid off. I can't wait to get started on one of the dress patterns!
After my run, I got right to work on cutting out pieces for my first attempt at making cute summer clothes. Cutting out the pieces is the easy part, but even that was a bit challenging -- I was pretty sure the pattern maker was on crack when laying out the placement diagram. I had to improvise a bit, but luckily it worked out just fine. This morning I made a stiff cup of coffee and got right to work on sewing.
Almost immediately, I was happy that I decided to make the shirt out of muslin first. Once I pieced together the front and back, I realized that I was going to have to make some major alterations. I had to cut the pattern one size larger than I needed to accommodate my bust line, which meant that I had to take in seams in other places. Also, I'm a lot shorter from my shoulder to my bust line than the pattern called for, so I had to take up the slack accordingly. I usually have this very same problem when I buy clothes off the rack -- I need a hybrid between petite and regular sizes.
Overall, I'm pretty excited about the outcome. Of course it's hard to tell on the dummy, but it really does fit very well. I'm glad I survived all of the altering and ripping out (lots) of seams. It makes me a little sad that my next step will be to take the whole thing apart so I can use the altered muslin as pattern pieces for the real thing. However, the uncomfortable afternoon spent wrapped up like a duct tape sausage has already paid off. I can't wait to get started on one of the dress patterns!
2 comments:
Please wear good running shoes as you begin running more; it will save your shins and joints in the long and short term! Good luck!
Not to worry! I have a good pair of running shoes -- never skimp on the running shoes!
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