Epic Fail!

Not every day is a happy sewing day. Case in point: Saturday evening, I decided to make a pair of pants for the Boy. The pattern was from Ottobre magazine. If you aren't familiar with Ottobre, it is a sort of fashion magazine focused primarily on children's clothing (though they do have a couple issues a year dedicated to women's fashion). The magazine is published in Finland, and then translated into English. It showcases a variety of designs that range in size from newborn to pre-teen. The designs are really fun and often have a distinct European flair. They always have great details, and definitely look much cooler than many of the ready-to-wear clothes found in stores. The cool part? ALL of the patterns to make the outfits are included with the magazine.

About a year ago, I went ahead and bought a subscription. Since then, the magazines have been languishing in my bookcase as I worked up the courage and motivation to tackle a pattern. There are challenges with this magazine. One is that the measurements are all in metric, so I have to convert the measurements to inches to make sense to me. The patterns need to be traced and have seam allowances added. Another challenge is that, though there are instructions for each of the designs, sometimes they can be difficult to follow because they are only written (and I'm very visual... illustrations are my friends!). Also, because it is a translation, sometimes the instructions can be a little confusing. Now, if you are a skilled/experienced sewist, that wouldn't be an obstacle at all. But I'm still learning, and so it presented me with a bit of a challenge.

Okay, back to Saturday night. I was trying a pants pattern (#25 in the 1/2008 issue). I traced my pattern and cut the fabric. I started sewing...

Most of the construction seemed to be going pretty well (though there was lots of topstitching, and that was taking a good amount of time). I even learned a couple new techniques (a cool "bellows" pocket and a new fly-zipper insertion technique). I had to do some seam ripping and unsewing, but it wasn't too bad.... until I reached the waistband. It wouldn't fit, the instructions were weird, nothing was working. After 5 hours of work, I had reached the breaking point, and I literally ripped those pants in half!


Stupid pants!!! (Deep calming breath.)

In hindsight, I know that was a pretty inane thing to do. But it did feel good at the time (3 am). I've had some time to stew on it now, and am feeling like now I could try again and be successful. I definitely learned a lot, and will be able to apply that to my next attempt. In fact, I am feeling like I need to try again, because it is a challenge, and I know I can do it. But first, I need to re-build some confidence. I need some sewing success. Hmmm... a new Dear Jane block should do the trick.