Becci's First Me-Made!
I had secretly been wanting some joggers for a while now, but due to my resolutions regarding consuming less and only buying what I needed, I had not purchased any. I also kind of assumed that, being of a short stature, most of the ready to wear joggers would not fit me. I have cut several inches off every pair of sweats or pajama pants I’ve ever owned But cutting the cuffs off would basically ruin a ready to wear pair of joggers so I had mostly put them out of my mind.
That is until I saw the Hudson. Katie introduced me to the True Bias website, which is a wonderful indie pattern shop. When I saw that Hudson jogger, I just knew. I knew that I wanted that to be the first handmade wearable in my wardrobe. It looked comfy and as classy as joggers can be. And I felt that it was probably within my skill set and would be a great way to get back into sewing. As the mommy of a beautiful, active 5 year old, I haven’t had much time to sew for a few years. But she is off to kindergarten now, and as she starts her new adventure, I start mine: a me-made year. So here is my experience and review of my first stab at it:
I found a french terry at my local big-box fabric store. Not my ideal color, but it works for around-the house pants. I ended up with a cording that was way too big to work for a drawstring. I wish I had read the sew along where she mentions that a shoelace would work. That would have been perfect. More on my drawstring issue later.
I had a hard time with the 3/8 inch seam allowance. It seems that my sewing time in 4-H had burned a 5/8 inch seam allowance into my brain and I could not get it out. I did a 5/8 inch allowance most of the time, mainly because I just forgot to do the 3/8. Good thing my fabric is stretchy, because the pants still fit. The only time this caused me a real problem was with the waistband.
Ugh, the waist band. I couldn’t believe how easily everything was coming together until I got to the waist band. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier that in order to have a drawstring, I would have to make button holes, which I have never done before. I don’t know why I didn’t practice making those buttonholes first, because they turned out terrible. And I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to not even make the buttonholes or not use the drawstring because I hate drawstrings and rip them out of all my RTW garments. Soooooo, let’s just say, lesson learned. I should have read the instruction booklet more thoroughly, I should have practiced those buttonholes OR I should have thought to leave the drawstring out. I will admit that I am often guilty of wanting everything to look just like the picture, and that is something I’m going to have to stop doing. Additionally on the waistband, due to sewing a 5/8 inch seam allowance, I had a horrible time threading my elastic and once I got it in, it didn’t really fit and I ended up ripping apart and re-sewing a few sections of it.
This is how my buttonholes turned out, haha
All of that being said, I could have saved a lot of headache for myself had I brought up the wonderful sew along available on the True Bias website sooner. I didn’t think to look at it until I actually started sewing. Had I reviewed it before cutting, I would have realized that those markings on the waistband pattern piece weren’t just for decoration and needed to be transferred to the actual fabric. Woops again.
So what this comes down to is that this was a good starter pattern for me, a somewhat confident beginner. I got a refresh on several things I had totally forgotten. There was nothing really complex, but I did learn a lot of lessons to apply to my next garment. They definitely did not turn out perfect, but they are fine for hanging out at home.
Lessons for next time:
Look for a sew along before cutting, sewing or buying.
Use swedish tracing paper and trace my size before cutting out pieces to preserve the pattern.
Read through the pattern booklet thoroughly and visualize each step in my mind so that I know what’s coming and what I need to practice.
If there is something in the pattern that I think will throw me off, do something to help myself. For the seam allowance, I could have put a sticky note on my machine or put a piece of painters tape on the 3/8 inch line as a reminder.
Markings on the pattern are there for a reason and should not be ignored!
Slow down and take my time. I really tried to do this, but when things got frustrating, I reverted back to my usual hurry up mentality. I need to remind myself that there is no hurry or pressure to get these garments done.
Sewing techniques learned:
Refresher on inserting an elastic waistband
Buttonholes, sort of
How to make pockets
Refresher on easing two pattern pieces together
These pants aren’t perfection, but they are wearable. I still felt amazing when I put them on and saw myself wearing my first me-made garment!! I still reach for them when I am putting on something to lounge at home in, simply because they are comfortable and I know that I made them myself.
This is my proud face
So, onward and upward. These are my first official pair of Confident pants! What about you, what struggles did you have when sewing your first garment?
Addendum: You will notice in my buttonhole pic, which was taken about 1 month after completing these pants, that some of my stitching is coming out. I used some VERY old thread that I inherited from my great-grandmother. I have a LOT of it and was under the impression that I would never have to buy thread again. But after reading a lot more about sewing, I have learned that using old thread is not a good idea and these pants are proof of why. The thread is just not holding up to washing and wearing. So, for all of you beginners out there, don’t use old thread. I will add that to my ever-growing lessons learned list, haha.
