McCalls 3830 + Craftsy Class

02 May McCalls 3830 + Craftsy Class

Since the last post my sewing took a domestic turn in the form of window treatments for my daughter’s new apartment in Charleston. My husband and I drove down to check out her new home and help her settle in.

I sewed, she pressed, he hung; a comical scene since our family isn’t exactly handy. Thirty-six hours later we congratulated ourselves on a job well done and headed for Edisto Beach.

Shortly before leaving for Charleston, I decided to enroll in a much-needed sewing course.  For months, maybe years, I’ve been looking for the perfect skirt pattern. I finally concluded the only way to get the perfect one was to properly customize my existing skirt patterns, so I turned to this online course with Diana Rupp from Craftsy.com

 I was really excited to get to Edisto and start on my skirt, but while getting my sewing machine from the car, this look of disappointment instantly appeared on my          husband’s face.

……………….

I ended up trading in my sewing time for a boat ride along with the worst sunburn I’ve had in 30 years.

Well I’m back home and finally finished both the sewing course and  this white pique skirt – a vivid contrast against my bright red skin.Modeling the skirt will occur after my sunburn subsides, however, I am extremely pleased with the finished product. The skirt – McCalls 3830 –  fits  p e r f e c t l y  and I expect to wear it throughout the summer.

    
Diana Rupp’s course features two projects from her book, Sew Everything Workshop; a pillow and a tailored skirt. Although the course was described as great for beginners, I was ready to slow down, back up and learn professional techniques in order to move ahead. Not only was the course a wise investment for fitting purposes but it was a great refresher course for techniques I’ve never mastered until now (below).

    
 
 Tempted to take The Couture Dress course with Susan Khalje, I’m glad I started with simple instructions to prevent some of the complications I’ve faced in past                   sewing projects.

Entering the ninth month of making my clothes instead of buying my clothes for a year with new knowledge and new expectations should be incentive enough to carry me through the final three months of my challenge;

a challenge that has so far resulted in 43 new garments and  t h o u s a n d s  of extra dollars in my bank account.