I've been debating whether or not I wanted to "participate" in the Top 5 Misses/Hits, but after noticing myself really enjoying reading a few (Carolyn, Winnie, and, of course, Gillian), I decided to go ahead and do it! I'm going to break it up into two posts. We'll start with the not-so-good and end with the awesome shit. A lot of these items were just discussed in my previous post of unblogged items, so I'll try to limit my descriptions to just why they're either in the Hits or Misses categories.
1. McCalls 6563
So I made this pattern twice in quick succession because I thought I really liked it. I even called it a Tried and True (TNT) Pattern on Instagram after I made it the second time. But then I started wearing them and realized I completely dislike them! This pattern is a bias cut blouse and I've come to realize that I hate wearing bias cut blouses. It's very possible that I didn't handle the fabric correctly, but it's also possible that this pattern isn't as great as I first thought it was. I'm also not thrilled with how the cowl drapes or the way the blouse hangs around my hips.
Funny thing though, despite all these misgivings, I've actually worn it a lot and I attribute that to the fabric, which is a silk that I purchased at The Fabric Store. It looks fine under a suit jacket if I need to look a bit more professional at work and I've worn it to several holiday parties last month. It goes with a skirt, jeans, black pants, suit pants, etc. I doubt the brown poly version will last in my wardrobe, but I just can't bring myself to give away the silk version, since I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it.
2. Emery Dress (Version #4)
I made several Emery dresses this year (see here and here), but my last one didn't turn out so good. I wore it to the Christine Haynes' book party launch at Sew LA where I met a bunch of sewists (Trice, Amity, Kathy, Laura, and Laurie). The main reason this dress is on the "Misses" list is because I just can't pull off a loud, busy print. I don't feel comfortable in it and I haven't worn it since. I don't want to donate the dress since I really like the fabric so I'll probably re-purpose it into something else.
3. Sewaholic Belcarra Blouse (Version #1)
I want to like this blouse so much but I don't because of the type of fabric I chose to use. I used quilting cotton and it's way too thick for this blouse so I feel like I'm wearing a sack, although a very pretty sack. I've worn it a couple times because I really like the print, but I'm so self conscious when I wear it. I can't decide if I want to keep it or not. I might leave it in my closet for another year and reassess next December whether it should stay or go. Another alternative is to slim it down through the waist and hips and insert a side zip.....it might work.
4. Deer and Doe Airelle Blouse
I'm so embarrassed to even post a photo of this blouse. I don't know what I was thinking. It was my first foray into mixing fabrics and combing a print with a solid. It worked in my head (or at least I thought it did). It turned out horribly. The hem isn't even finished, but it's been sitting in my closet and I laugh every time I look at it. Trust me, it looks awful on me. I need to get rid of it, although I think it's too shitty to donate, especially with an unfinished hem.
5. "Vintage" Simplicity 2154
The blouse is technically finished, but I consider it unfinished because I won't wear it as-is. I'm calling it a miss because I've struggled with how to finish it for so long. I didn't like the bow. I didn't like the collar. But I made the keyhole for the bow so now the keyhole looks weird on its own. I may cut open the center front neckline and miter the corner so it looks like the front of the Sewaholic Alma blouse. Again, I like this fabric and don't want to see it go to waste.
As I look back on my Misses there are a couple themes that jump out at me. First, I don't like loud prints. I like them in theory, I like them whenever I'm shopping for fabrics, but I don't like them on me. I need to remember this because there's no point in spending the money and time to make something I'm not going to wear.
The second theme is pattern and fabric and how they interact. Some garments, like the Emery dress, can be made out of quilting cotton. Others, like the Belcarra blouse, can't. I also need to be better about cutting fabric on the grainline or true bias. The Airelle blouse was doomed from the beginning because the fabric I used was so distorted I could not for the life of me find the grainline. I also didn't spend as much time as I should have finding the true bias for the McCall's 6563 blouses, which could be why they don't drape well.
I've reached a point in my sewing hobby where I don't mind taking the extra time to construct a garment I will wear so I need to remember not to take shortcuts. I'd like to construct a garment made on the bias that I enjoy wearing so perhaps I'll make that a goal in 2015.
Have you ever made something that you don't actually like wearing, but still wear it because it looks ok on you? What have you learned from looking back at your least liked garments?
ok.....coming up tomorrow, the stuff I'm proud of!
1. McCalls 6563
So I made this pattern twice in quick succession because I thought I really liked it. I even called it a Tried and True (TNT) Pattern on Instagram after I made it the second time. But then I started wearing them and realized I completely dislike them! This pattern is a bias cut blouse and I've come to realize that I hate wearing bias cut blouses. It's very possible that I didn't handle the fabric correctly, but it's also possible that this pattern isn't as great as I first thought it was. I'm also not thrilled with how the cowl drapes or the way the blouse hangs around my hips.
Funny thing though, despite all these misgivings, I've actually worn it a lot and I attribute that to the fabric, which is a silk that I purchased at The Fabric Store. It looks fine under a suit jacket if I need to look a bit more professional at work and I've worn it to several holiday parties last month. It goes with a skirt, jeans, black pants, suit pants, etc. I doubt the brown poly version will last in my wardrobe, but I just can't bring myself to give away the silk version, since I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it.
2. Emery Dress (Version #4)
I made several Emery dresses this year (see here and here), but my last one didn't turn out so good. I wore it to the Christine Haynes' book party launch at Sew LA where I met a bunch of sewists (Trice, Amity, Kathy, Laura, and Laurie). The main reason this dress is on the "Misses" list is because I just can't pull off a loud, busy print. I don't feel comfortable in it and I haven't worn it since. I don't want to donate the dress since I really like the fabric so I'll probably re-purpose it into something else.
3. Sewaholic Belcarra Blouse (Version #1)
I want to like this blouse so much but I don't because of the type of fabric I chose to use. I used quilting cotton and it's way too thick for this blouse so I feel like I'm wearing a sack, although a very pretty sack. I've worn it a couple times because I really like the print, but I'm so self conscious when I wear it. I can't decide if I want to keep it or not. I might leave it in my closet for another year and reassess next December whether it should stay or go. Another alternative is to slim it down through the waist and hips and insert a side zip.....it might work.
4. Deer and Doe Airelle Blouse
I'm so embarrassed to even post a photo of this blouse. I don't know what I was thinking. It was my first foray into mixing fabrics and combing a print with a solid. It worked in my head (or at least I thought it did). It turned out horribly. The hem isn't even finished, but it's been sitting in my closet and I laugh every time I look at it. Trust me, it looks awful on me. I need to get rid of it, although I think it's too shitty to donate, especially with an unfinished hem.
5. "Vintage" Simplicity 2154
The blouse is technically finished, but I consider it unfinished because I won't wear it as-is. I'm calling it a miss because I've struggled with how to finish it for so long. I didn't like the bow. I didn't like the collar. But I made the keyhole for the bow so now the keyhole looks weird on its own. I may cut open the center front neckline and miter the corner so it looks like the front of the Sewaholic Alma blouse. Again, I like this fabric and don't want to see it go to waste.
As I look back on my Misses there are a couple themes that jump out at me. First, I don't like loud prints. I like them in theory, I like them whenever I'm shopping for fabrics, but I don't like them on me. I need to remember this because there's no point in spending the money and time to make something I'm not going to wear.
The second theme is pattern and fabric and how they interact. Some garments, like the Emery dress, can be made out of quilting cotton. Others, like the Belcarra blouse, can't. I also need to be better about cutting fabric on the grainline or true bias. The Airelle blouse was doomed from the beginning because the fabric I used was so distorted I could not for the life of me find the grainline. I also didn't spend as much time as I should have finding the true bias for the McCall's 6563 blouses, which could be why they don't drape well.
I've reached a point in my sewing hobby where I don't mind taking the extra time to construct a garment I will wear so I need to remember not to take shortcuts. I'd like to construct a garment made on the bias that I enjoy wearing so perhaps I'll make that a goal in 2015.
Have you ever made something that you don't actually like wearing, but still wear it because it looks ok on you? What have you learned from looking back at your least liked garments?
ok.....coming up tomorrow, the stuff I'm proud of!
I have noticed that the Belcarra blouse definitely needs a very drapey fabric. I haven't made it yet because I worry about how it will drape on me. I've noticed it in a few people's miss lists for last year. It's interesting that you don't love the Emery dress. It definitely looked good on you. I do understand about loud prints, though. I am more into solids or very mild prints. I have a few blouses made from louder prints and I wear them because I have nothing else to wear! I always pair them with a cardigan or jacket, as that tones them down by only seeing a smaller portion of the print.
ReplyDeleteI realize now how important it is to have a very drapey fabric for a blouse without any closures. Otherwise you risk looking like you're wearing a sack, especially if you have a larger bust or a big difference between bust and waist. Oh well, lesson learned....
DeleteOh, hiding a loud print under a cardigan is a good idea! I'll keep that in mind the next time I can't resist buying a loud print.
Well, it's probably no surprise that I like the bold prints you've used here... and what a beautifully coordinated colour palette these least-favourites have! But there's nothing worse to wear than a poorly fitting garment, so forget them and move on to better things in 2015! :)
ReplyDeleteYou wear bold prints so well! I once saw a lady wearing a shirt or dress with black and white stripes and floral print and I thought, "that's Gillian's fabric!"
Delete