This is where the magic happens…

This is the cleanest you will ever see it….

Daphne is always helpful…

I started sewing again in earnest in July, having been in a sewing funk for just shy of a year.  It was not a good funk, like a George Clinton or James Brown sort of funk.  It happens from time to time.  I had a disaster involving some Colette Hawthorn shirt dresses.  I hung them up in the closet and said, “screw this; I’m taking a break.”    The miasma of failure, coupled with constant travel, made me disinclined to want to make anything at all.  Like I said, it was a funk.  I didn’t make anything new for myself until recently.  When I finally did, it felt pretty great.    

I did something of a post mortem on those 3 Hawthorns, and discovered the key to all of my fitting troubles.  For years, I suffered from gaping armsyces and neck lines.  During my hiatus, I read a lot about fitting theory.  I discovered the crux of my failures.  Picking patterns based on the bust size meant my shoulders and upper bust were far too big.  Dresses that button up the front gaped, badly.  I had all the symptoms of needing a full bust adjustment.  Armed with this knowledge, I made a sort of a mid-year resolution, that the rest of 2016 would be around making garments that not only fit, but fit well.

I did what I should have been doing years ago; full mock-ups to check fit.  I sincerely believe that it has taken my construction to a new level.  I got back to the basics, simple garments with good bones; as neat on the inside as they are on the outside.

I decided that I needed some time to myself to simply create.  To push myself to be make up for lost time, while I’m on this high of creative productivity and success.  I  chose to take a week of vacation and sew.  I’m calling it my Sewbatical.  I’ve also decided this must become an annual event of creative renewal and rediscovery.  You will see the fruits of my labors over the next month as the weekly Self-Stitched-September review posts are published.  I’m really looking forward to share what I’ve done with you.