buying, so that's good. I've been considering the idea for a long
time. See, I love purple and green, and plain fabrics. Yet I seldom
see plain purple or plain green dresses, tops, etc. And, when I do,
such a garment has been intended as a hot-air balloon or for someone
so tiny they must bathe in one of those plastic covers off a CDR
spindle.
Further, I like and look good in square necks. The last time these
were en vogue was probably in the mid-90's when those bodysuits were
fashionable. I remember those. I had one just as they were going
out of style.
Well, since I like "plain" so much, I thought, hey, perfect starting
point for me to learn how to use a sewing machine, right? After all,
if I'm going to wear something that hangs off my ankles, I might as
well make it myself. So I devised an idea for my first project: A
tunic-like top. The idea is that I take a piece of fabric wide
enough to fit me tshirt-ish, fold it in half lengthwise, cut a hole
in the fold for the neck, enlarge it on the "front" so it doesn't
choketh me (that part I picked up on the 'net when I was looking at
ideas afterward)... then cut the outline of what the armholes will
look like, fit the sides the best I can in proportion to that, and
stitch up the sides. Then, stitch the rest so it doesn't ravel and
look like that girl in the video for "Close To The Edit."
In essence, I envisioned a sack-like thing with a hole in the bottom
to stick my head through, only nicer, and of some purple cotton
material.
So today I went to Sears and bought myself a Singer. Not the kind
that serenades you with lullabies or ballads, but the kind that
drives a slender piece of steel through your finger if you're not
careful. The dude at Sears had as much knowledge of sewing as I did
- both of us last sewed during Home Ec in Junior High. But I've a
good memory, am practical and logically-inclined, and figure I can
figure this out myself. Everyone seems to think that I must be smart
if I can teach myself computers, so obviously I can sew, right? Uh,
yeah...
Then I went to Jo-Anne's and asked questions. The lady there wasn't
exactly the most helpful of peoples, but she seemed knowledgeable.
"Broadcloth? Use cotton stuff over there -- " [vague gesture] "and
make sure you stay away from anything stretchy." "Panne velvet is
out for now, right?" "Yeah, no, don't do that for your first
project." It was obvious I was overstaying my welcome so I ventured
off to find "cotton sans stretchy, no velvet" material. I ended up
picking out some lilac material and then some darker purple stuff
that *did* have a touch of spandex, but wasn't really that stretchy.
I chanced it anyway. Then I had it measured and priced, picked out
some matching thread, and headed to the cashier.
Upon checkout, I asked if they gave sewing lessons, because I'd
forgotten to ask the sewing peoples. They said yes, of course. So I
said I'd check into it if I had troubles. The cashier laughed and
wished me luck.
I got home and threw the new fabric in the washer because I'd read
it's good to do this before you sew it. (I did take note of care
instructions, too!) Then I went upstairs, firmly pushed the "little"
kitty out of my room to avoid attaching his tail to his whiskers, and
opened my new toy.
After ten minutes of analyzing the device and the contents of its
little accessory drawer, I'd picked out three objects I was familiar
with: bobbins, needles, and the foot thingie. So I picked up the
manual. It then took me about 40 minutes to set up the machine and
get thread in/onto it because I not only read the basic portion of
the manual, but two-thirds of it happened to be in a language other
than English. Consequently it took twice as long to read because I'd
start reading the Spanish version after the English, and then realize
it said the same thing; the French, at least, I couldn't read much of
at all, and would skip over at first glance. I should have learned
Russian, at least then I wouldn't be sidetracked with multilingual
manuals because I've never seen a manual done in Russian.
Finally, I had the thread on the bobbin, the bobbin in the thingie,
more thread on the needle, and - to my knowledge anyway - the machine
was ready to sew. I then cut up an old sock to practice on. My lead
foot bunched up the fabric and it got jammed in the toothy thing; I
also forgot to reverse the stitches after five to anchor the
stitching. Otherwise, not too bad. I went downstairs and threw the
fabric in the dryer. Then I analyzed a pair of pants to see how
they're hemmed. I came back into my den, firmly pushed "little"
kitty out again, and folded the sock material over to see if I could
hem it. That went well.
So my next step is to try stitching real material, but I've not
gathered enough courage to do it yet, and I'm out of play time. The
Festival is at 5 something and I want to be there for the parade.
Hmph. Later a friend is due to arrive for the weekend, so I'm afraid
my sewing time is over for a bit. Still, my first lesson has been
done. The sock-stitch. LOL
~nv
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