Where am I in the TNT or One and done range? Well, it depends. If we're talking about the ESP dress or the Appleton I'm darn close to TNT. ESP still needs a few tweaks.
If we're talking about the perfect outfit - I'm always losing my mind over the newest shinny pattern. I mean, I was super inspired by a guest in loose flowy wide legged pants. She looked fabulous, comfortable and really put together. So, what do I do? I made one pair of McCalls 7757. They were meant to be a wearable muslin, but they were just all around too big. I took them in, altered my pattern, made one more pair and haven't even taken photos in that pair to see if they are closer to hitting the mark.
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| Pants are from Lilly P |
This weekend, I send Carolyn a message to tell me I didn't need to buy the Love Notions Summer Caye pants - because basically I HAVE IT! And I believe Gillian has a tutorial on making pants have a flat front and elastic back. But - have I revised my pattern yet? Nope.
And then I get stumped by what to wear with full legged pants like that. Is it just a tee? Have a played with Concord enough to just be able to pull it out and sew it up? Why not? There's not a single piece of fabric I own that's too special to use.
I also want a button down shirt. And let me tell you, I have patterns for button downs. But then I get stuck and can't decide which pattern to use. Do I want a fitted shirt or a really loose shirt? Long sleeves, short sleeves? It gets to be so overwhelming for me that I make another shirt for JB!
So talk to me - share your process from getting from a pattern to a wardrobe staple. Clearly, I need help.
I feel like I have about 3 dresses, although each is in a wide variety of colors and prints. Still, I find something, make it, poke at it and re-do it until it works, then make it a bazillion times. How many V1250s do I have? And now there's the H0172 (New Look) that's similar, but with sleeve options, and I've made that several times since March. I bought a bunch of new patterns, so I can try to branch out, but I'm so hard to fit that I keep defaulting back to the patterns that are 10, 20, 30 years old. And you've been helping me through the tribulations of trying to make that muslin work for the dress I want to copy out of the catalog I got in February or March. Honestly, sometimes I don't know if the picture that inspired me was because I loved the dress, or because it was clearly summer somewhere and I really needed it. I wish I was half the queen of the TNT like Carolyn is. She seems to be able to take a new pattern, compare it to her TNT and just make it work. I just pulled a bundle with only 2 pieces, each better than 2 yards, and I have 2 new dress patterns selected to try. I'll see how that goes: whether I'm happy with my experiment, or screaming with fury at myself for needing to rework them one or more times. I just don't have the confidence to figure out what alterations I need to make to the pattern to make it work from the start.
ReplyDeleteOk, what does TNT stand for? I have favorite patterns that I reuse over and over. I still have a few patterns from when I was a teenager. Just using different fabrics and trims make them look entirely new.
ReplyDeleteI will rework and rework and rework a pattern, always looking for it to be just a bit better. But when I've achieved a good but not perfect fit, I will wear it, and then next time I'll tweak it some more to improve it. Slowly I am developing a wardrobe of patterns having a variety of styles that I really like and that fit me. I keep working to expand this mix of patterns. I think wide-legged pants are not such a great look on most people, for various reasons. It's all about proportion. They look ridiculous on my short legs.
ReplyDeleteHi Karel - I know you do! And you have some great patterns that you have worked to perfection! I'm not sure why I'm so against it really. I mean what difference does it make if you are re-working an existing pattern or starting a new one? Either way may or may not give you something wearable.
DeleteI hear you on the wide legged pants - I'm not talking huge legs, but I do want to continue trying to make the pattern work. I love the idea of the flowy pants with a fitted t, but until I get the pants pattern right, I have no idea if it will work for me or not. :) Hope you are well. g