Earlier this summer I took on the challenge of zippers. Oh, no, they may not sound like much, in fact I use them pretty mindlessly every day. But sewing with them seemed like an impossible feat to me. Although I love to pass the rack of zippers at the fabric store, lured by the colorful stripes they form while hanging, I could simply not imagine buying one.
Then one day something came over me, I actually bought one without knowing quite what to do with it. I guess it was my way of inching closer to taking on something new. Now that it was home, there was no use in letting it sit around. I had a few ideas: a new little wallet or… skirts. Well the thought of skirts made me much more nervous. I had been dreaming of, and putting off making them for many years. So, of course, skirts it was.
My research began and I finally found the perfect tutorial for me. I began reading and rereading the posts for a few days. My imagination was rolling. Some of the instructions seemed absolutely nutty. I had no idea what some of the steps were but I figured if I followed things and got to experimenting with fabric instead of just reading, it would all fall right into place. Taking it step by step with the materials in hand, I found that answers were coming right as I needed them.
I began with a practice skirt and gave myself plenty of space to make mistakes. I find that if I realize that perfection is in doing something new and challenging. There is no need to get it more “right” than that. Future practice will help me polish my skills and techniques so for now I can relax and just try it and notice how things come together.
I worked for a couple of weeks straight making skirts: cutting fabric, muslin, darting, pressing, making ruffles, rolling hems and laughing at myself a lot. All the while I learned so much and I ended up with 10 skirts. Only 1 wasn’t wearable and found its way to the give-away pile. Not bad for a brand new challenge.
Of course, now that that’s done, I am dreaming of ways to adapt my pattern and get more creative. At least I have a bit of time until next summer!
