Replies

1. 
   ladypep | Apr 20, 2006 05:56pm | #1

   My worst sewing disaster is still very painful.  I splurged on a stretch satin twill in a red on white toile.  I proceded to cut out a pair of cropped pants, folding on the crossgrain to fit pattern.  That's right, half the pieces had the print upside down.  I have been thiking for a year on how to salvage this beautiful fabric.  Maybe a short skirt with lots of narrow gores.  Anyone?

   Meg

1. 
   Teaf5 | Apr 21, 2006 01:04am | #4

   I think you might make quite a statement by sewing it just as you cut it and play up the design "choices" by making patch pockets cut on the bias! Really, with such amazing fabric, you could make the different directions seem intentional if you embellished the seams with equally amazing trim or ribbon.A lot of students I see wear boutique garments with wild, off-kilter patterns, and I see that approach in a lot of design exhibits; it's a kind of play on the formality of the toile pattern and the freedoms of modern design and line. Red and white stretch toile is already pretty dramatic, so maybe some black grosgrain ribbon and tulle edging? They might become your favorites!

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   Brenn | Apr 20, 2006 07:06pm | #2

   My most embarassing sewing disaster was a fairly skimpy bikini.  I made it out of lightweight denim and it looked OK when I put it on for the first time.  Then I put on my wetsuit and went diving.

   In those days neoprene was pretty stiff and my wetsuit was so tight I needed someone to help me pull it off.  So later, there was I on a beach somewhere hanging around with both arms behind me to allow a friend to peel off the wetsuit jacket.  The bikini top meanwhile was a bit of soggy rag covering nothing much! 

   Another sad disaster was a nice shirt I made for my husband.  It looked fine but I put the buttonholes on the wrong side and he wouldn't wear it :-(

1. 
   autumn | Apr 20, 2006 11:50pm | #3

   Speaking of putting buttonholes on the wrong side -- this was a disaster, but not of my making.  When I was in first year of grad. school, newly married and VERY poor, I made a gingham shirt dress, pink and white check, from a pattern I had done before and loved.  I put one buttonhole in and decided I did not have time or patience to do the rest of them, about 5 down the front, so I took it to a seamstress at a cleaner. I had the buttonholes marked where I wanted them to match the one I had done. When I went back to get the dress, she had made all the buttonholes on the opposite side, and explained to me that I had put the first one of the wrong side (men's side -- who cares?) so she "corrected" my mistake. So there I was with one buttonhole on one side, and a whole row of holes on the other side. I was sooooo mad!!  But I was only 21 and not too sure of myself. Nowdays I would have refused to pay her.  I went ahead and sewed the button over the useless button hole, and it was covered by the other side, so it looked OK. But I've never forgotten the NERVE of that woman to cut buttonholes on the side opposite of where I had marked them, because "girls didn't wear their buttons on that side."

1. 
   Teaf5 | Apr 21, 2006 01:08am | #5

   Oh, that's so sad! Maybe she was worried she'd be fired if she didn't do it the "standard" way? I stopped sewing consigment garments because there were always so many little choices to make that the customer didn't think to tell me about, and I always seemed to choose the wrong option. Or they would give me a direction that I just couldn't believe they would really want if they actually saw it, like bright horizontal stripes across a large bust, for example.