Last Day-Dress (and Conclusion)!!

I can’t believe that this journey is already over. It feels like I just started a few days ago (I mean I did but you know what I mean). This is kind of a big moment for me since I always wanted to make a dress when I was younger! The dress was surprisingly really simple to make, but most of the difficulties came from having patience. 

Even though I’m proud of all the progress I have made, I still feel like I could have done things a little bit better. I really wish I attempted longer sleeves and tried to incorporate elastic into the design. I also wish that I had chosen a different fabric because although it was knitted and perfect for the dress I wanted, it was very light and fragile, which made it extremely hard to put the thread through (since I could snag the fabric [and I did like fifty times…]). I also should have been a little more careful with sewing the pockets, since they are a little messed up. Don't worry, they work! Other than those things, I really am happy with what I was able to create. 

I actually found sewing to be really tedious at first but as I got the hang of things, it started to feel more similar to how I feel when I knit/sew. I felt calm and time seemed to go by so fast. I definitely hope to continue sewing in college (if I have the time :<).

This project has been so fun, and I learned so many new things :D! Below are pictures of all my progress in order and the finished dress!!!! 

Thank you for reading :> !

Day 4- Lots of Progress!! (pt. 2)

 I added the elastic to the skirt!

And here’s an image of my bear modeling it :D!

The skirt was not that difficult to make at all. The hardest part was putting the elastic in afterwards. At first, I tried using a bigger piece of elastic (because I measured that one out and created the band), but it did not work so I had to use a smaller one. I attempted to sew the elastic onto the fabric, but without a sewing machine, it was really hard to keep everything in place, so I doubt I’m going to use that for my actual dress. Overall, the process was very easy. The hardest part, like mentioned before, was just cutting out the fabric in the right shapes.

After reflecting on the sleeves that I made and posted, I think that I will definitely not do sleeves for my dress pattern and if I do, those will definitely be the last thing I make. 

I also tried to learn how to make a basic bodice, but unfortunately, I did not have enough fabric left to practice. However, it is very similar to making the skirt, as it is just drawing out measurements onto the fabric and cutting those out. 

Upon researching the specific methods of serging by hand (a lot of them used a sewing machine anyway), I found out that I could just use a blanket stitch to get the same effect. 

I’m a little shocked at everything I needed to learn about colors! I know the basics, like the color wheel and warm/cool colors, but I didn’t know that there was more that goes into everything. Everyone has a season: summer, winter, spring, and autumn. But what I didn’t know is that you can split up the seasons as well to have a total of twelve different categories:

• Warm/dark/muted Summer

• Warm/dark/muted Spring

• Warm/dark/muted Winter

• Warm/dark/muted Autumn 

As for the color schemes, one can have classics such as monochromatic, complementary, and analogous. There is also split complementary, in which you take a main color and then, instead of its opposite, use the two colors adjacent to its opposite. For example, if the main color was purple, the two other colors used would be yellow green and yellow orange. Of course, one can use more than just these color schemes. It helps if all the colors used are around the same saturations, so that they look more connected. I think it would be good if my dress had more than one color, to make it look more interesting. 

I’m once again going to have to buy materials. I think I’ll need around 3-4 yards of knitted cotton fabric and maybe some accents.

I found a pattern that I will use for my dress (It has pockets!), but unfortunately, I am unable to post a picture of it right now. 

My last post will be the complete dress and my thoughts of this whole journey! :D

Day 3- Lots of Progress!!

It’s been a while since I have updated this, but that does not mean I have not worked on my sewing journey. In fact, I have made a good amount of progress! And because of that, I am going to split my progress update into two parts. First off, my plans have changed. I was going to focus completely on researching the different types of colors, but I think it would be more beneficial to practice how to make sleeves, since I only have a yard of fabric. Maybe when I start working with it, I might be able to experiment with the panels I need (I’m starting to think that I should just analyze the dresses that I already own). I think I already know what kind of skirt I’d like the dress to have: something less flowy, so not like a full circle skirt. Maybe a half or a quarter. 

Anyway, I looked up a video on how to make sleeves… and oh boy. I knew how difficult sewing was, but I never really went in depth with my research until now. First of all, there are so many different types of sleeves (I originally decided on a poet sleeve), and then, it’s a whole struggle trying to find a pattern for it that is free!! I attempted to make a basic (kinda wide) sleeve, and it did not go that well… I think that I might have to make a sleeveless dress at this point. However, I did learn the reasonings behind the patterns. However, I still cannot fathom how the part that connects the sleeve to the front of the clothing even works. I know that it is a curve and that the bigger the curve, the shorter the width. There is actually a lot of math behind that part. The curve stems from the triangle that is based on one’s measurements. No matter what, I cannot get it right. This is my attempt at a sleeve…

On a better note, I figured out how to find the measurements to make a half circle skirt. You just need to measure your waist and then divide that by pi. That is the waist radius. Then, you can add the length that you desire to the number you got and that is your length radius. After that, all you have to do is copy that length down on your fabric in a circle (or half circle, or quarter) and then you cut it out and sew it together! The hardest part about any of this is just figuring out how the patterns work instead of the actual sewing itself, since that is pretty straightforward. I still have to add the elastic and fix up a little of the work I did, but it will be done by the next update! 

I decided to research more about the fabric. The first time around, I only looked at the material it was made of. However, when I thought more about how my shirts fit compared to the cotton fabric I bought for practice, I realized that they fit differently, but they were both made of cotton. That’s when I looked closer and realized that while they both may be the same material, they are not composed in the same manner. The shirt was stretchier than the practice fabric. So, I decided to look up the different types of weaving methods used. 

There are three basic types: plain, twill, and satin. Of course, there are different combinations and variations of these three to form even more different types of weaving. A plain weave is the most basic one (obviously), but it is very strong and firm. And it is just the typical alternating weaving pattern. Meanwhile, twill is “one or more warp fibers alternately weave over and under two or more weft fibers repeatedly”. This fabric is also strong, but it drapes more than the plain weave since the threads are a little looser. A satin weave is like a twill weave except more continuous, which gives it a shiny look. This one is usually used for silk. The one that my shirt uses is more of a knitted fabric, which allows for a stretchy fit, so I believe that I should find a knitted cotton to make it easier to make the dress. 

In addition to the knitted fabric, I actually saw many videos about making clothes and in all of them, I noticed that the edges of the fabrics were sewed in some way. Apparently, this is called serging, which is used to prevent the edges of the fabric from unraveling. Usually, people use a serger to achieve this, but it is possible to hand sew. From what it looks like, it seems to be similar to hemming fabric. In the next update (if I remember), I will add a picture of my attempt. 

Finally, there are so many different types of dresses out there, it’s kind of hard to choose which one I want to make. Since summer is coming up, I was thinking of something more flowy and lighter. I haven’t decided if I wanted the skirt to be long or short. I think a longer skirt would look nicer, but it would use up more fabric… I think I just want a regular rounded neckline.

That is the first half of my progress. For the next post, I will update on the interesting aspects of colours, show the finished skirt and what I’ve learned from that, and also the pattern I chose for my dress! :>

Day 2-Fabrics!!

 Anyway, time to talk about fabric :D! The one I used to practice is from some old, ripped leggings, so the fabric is very light and easy to rip. I think that once I make a material list (hopefully posted at the end of this post!), I'm going to need to get some sturdier fabric. I think my needle is too big for delicate fabrics and I refuse to buy a smaller needle (it was hard enough to put the thread through the eye of the needle. Usually when knitting, I’m a fan of more natural yarn such as cotton, since it's very sturdy compared to something like acrylic. As for fabrics, I did know there were a lot of types, but I did not know the extent. There are so many that I swear I have never heard of, like textured crepe (which is a food??????? Why is it the name of a fabric thing??). Chiffon is like the classic luxury fabric; it’s made from silk. As amazing as that sounds, silk is very fragile, and I do not think that I have the patience to use something that can be ruined so easily. Tulle is a nice fabric used to create volume and this amazing sheer effect; however, its texture is very…. unappealing :(! Poly jersey is an interesting lightweight fabric used for (of course) jerseys. I hate that texture as well. I love everything about velvet, as it looks so elegant and sophisticated (I am heavily considering this for at least one aspect of the dress). And then we have my favorite (that I have already mentioned above) .......... COTTON!! It is literally the best material. It’s so sturdy yet still light and it’s not one of those synthetic ones! I also like all of the lacing details used, and I want to go for a semi-complex look, so I might try to use a tiny bit of lacing at the hems (maybe I’ll make some lace :> [technically I have done that before so :D]). 

Now, for the materials.

I definitely need new scissors, since mine do NOT work that well anymore. Thankfully, I recently (months ago) bought needles that I have not used until a couple of days ago, so I do not have to buy those. I only have purple and black thread. That might work, but it all depends upon the colors I choose. And of course, I’ll need to get some fabric. However, I have not decided on a pattern yet for a dress. I feel like the ones I saw seemed either too simple or too difficult with nothing in between, so I’ll have to keep looking!

Next time I work on this project, I’d like to practice more stitches and find a pattern for the dress, as well as look into how colors work with one another when regarding clothing.

Day 1-Stitches!!

Day one of starting this project and it is not that bad. I learned a few new stitches. Two of them are for hemming (they are the ones on the edge of the fabric), while the rest are just regular stitches. 

The one with the most gaps is a running stitch, and it is the most basic stitch one could learn. Right next to it is my attempt at what I think is called a backstitch (the names are so hard to find for some reason since so many people use so many different names for what I think is the same thing and then apparently, it’s not???). The backstitch is my preferred way of sewing, since it’s more secure than the running stitch. 

On top is the whip stitch, which is a slanted stitch that is designed to not have as much bulk as a different hemming technique. Finally, the hardest one for me: the blanket stitch, which took me around half an hour to figure out, but it became really simple after I realized that the way I moved the needle through was actually important. 

But overall, I felt like it was pretty quick and simple to learn all of them. Of course, they are all uneven, and the tension (is that the right word) is very inconsistent, but the most important part is the stitch itself currently. I will focus on that other stuff later. 

Anyway, below I have provided a picture of my attempt at sewing. Surprisingly, I did not stab myself with the needle at all! The longest part was just doing it…I can tell it’s going to take me forever to actually make that dress :(. 

For my next day, I think I will begin researching the different fabrics, and hopefully, I'll have a list of the materials I'll need and the pattern I'd like to use to make the dress!

Introduction: Why Did I Choose to Do This?!

Hello!! My name is Nadia, and my project consists of learning how to sew! Hopefully by the end of this, I’m able to design and create a dress (or any article of clothing, depending on how much I learn). 

I wanted my project to be about sewing because a lot of my aunts and both of my grandmas know how to sew. They all make clothes for their families, but my mom never learned, so my extension, I didn’t either. Though I did learn how to knit and crochet from my grandma (I made dolls :D), I could never quite grasp sewing. However, I did spend a lot of time drawing up sketches for a ton of dresses that I wanted to make (unfortunately, I think I threw them out years ago). 

(The three dolls I made when I started learning how to crochet)

I think now is a perfect time to learn sewing and everything related to fabric. It’s actually a pretty useful skill, even though plenty of people just gloss over it because it seems so difficult or time consuming, and I think that everyone should at least learn the basics. And I also find all the different types of fabrics to be very interesting, and maybe, it’ll help with figuring out what type of clothing I want to make for this. 

Another reason for me wanting to learn how to sew is because one can see it as an artform. Once you learn all the basics, you can literally create anything, and why not have another creative outlet? 

Anyway, I barely have any experience in sewing. Everything I’ve done was years ago and most of the pieces are falling apart now (...or I lost them…) since my stitches were really loose and simple. I plan to gather information through the use of that one dusty old book on my shelf about all of this and a bunch of online resources. I would ask my grandma, but she left the country already :(. 

By the end of this, I hope that I can retain all of the information I learn so I can maybe continue sewing in college! And I do not have a sewing machine, so I am going to have to do all of this by hand… :)