Tuesday moved REALLY slow. I unpacked the studio and put everything away but it wasn't until Wednesday morning that I actually went in to work. It felt great to be back in my own space with all the inspiration of my holiday and...
... it felt somewhat confusing. I sat down at the paint station and couldn't remember how to do anything so I sorted through my collage materials, pulled out a few things, glued them down with the matte medium I'd bought and ended up with a confirmation or a message depending on how you see it. The way in which we present ourselves and move through the world is our style. It is authentic, unique, and individual. It is ours alone and not meant to be copied from or to another person.
Although I went to the retreat intending to make a coat, as the piece unfolded there were things I loved about it and more that I didn't. I prefer well fitted clothing and it felt sloppy especially through the underarm and sleeves. I also prefer clothing with structure, a shoulder seam, and a defined shoulder point and I'd built this piece by working over the shoulder rather than to it so every time I took the coat on and off of myself or the mannequin it was difficult to maintain correct positioning.
And, since none of the piecing was finished, I'd need to find some way to protect those raw edges which was going to be complicated with all the top stitching and hand stitching I'd added. I want to revisit this idea in the future starting with a foundation to build onto which will solve most of these issues. I have a very similar pair of pants I'm about to shrink out of so I know I'll have the opportunity again at some point. I decided to turn this piece into a skirt.
The first thing I did was to cut out the sleeves, try it on, and look to see where waist level was. Cut there, the skirt would have been shorter than I liked so instead I cut off the bodice and pulled the rest on, securing it with an elastic. Once I had the hem fairly level, I then traced around the bottom of the elastic, cut 5/8" above that line, and cut off the top edge. That was only an attempt at the proper waist positioning. From there, it needed fine tuning.
As a reference point, I marked center front, folded, and mirrored the shape of the waistband left and right cutting them the same shape although they are not the same width. That difference becomes a creative problem to resolve.
And, since none of the piecing was finished, I'd need to find some way to protect those raw edges which was going to be complicated with all the top stitching and hand stitching I'd added. I want to revisit this idea in the future starting with a foundation to build onto which will solve most of these issues. I have a very similar pair of pants I'm about to shrink out of so I know I'll have the opportunity again at some point. I decided to turn this piece into a skirt.
The first thing I did was to cut out the sleeves, try it on, and look to see where waist level was. Cut there, the skirt would have been shorter than I liked so instead I cut off the bodice and pulled the rest on, securing it with an elastic. Once I had the hem fairly level, I then traced around the bottom of the elastic, cut 5/8" above that line, and cut off the top edge. That was only an attempt at the proper waist positioning. From there, it needed fine tuning.
As a reference point, I marked center front, folded, and mirrored the shape of the waistband left and right cutting them the same shape although they are not the same width. That difference becomes a creative problem to resolve.
After overlapping and pinning the potential side seams, the back hung awkwardly crooked. The left back had to be adjusted significantly for the skirt to shift and hang better which meant re-marking and re-cutting the waist and then mirroring the shape across the back.
Every adjustment creates other challenges and sometimes solutions. In this case, the shift created enough width at the waist that I didn't need to add in a piece of fabric. I could simply finish and turn under the edge, overlap the pieces, and top stitch into place completing one side which would in turn make it easier to complete the other one.
The image above left is the underneath layer. I smoothed out the curve of the raw edge and then finished it on the serger. I find with draping I have to be more aware of the edges that need to be finished and the best time to do them since there is no predictable routine as with following a pattern. Once the side seam was stitched, I added tucks to the slit to re-even the bottom edges. A similar process will happen on the other side seam.
On that side, I need to leave an opening to get in and out of the skirt. I've decided to fold the edges toward the back and to sew a waistband around the top and down the angle shown in the picture above right creating something similar to a pocket opening. I'm waiting to do this until my body has readjusted to being home and back to eating normally. Some of the foods - well actually a lot of the foods - I ate on my holiday were bloating plus travel is bloating so I want that to settled down before completing the waist especially as I plan to lose more inches. I'm contemplating elastic in the back waist to help work with weight loss although I know eventually the skirt will not fit and that's okay too. LOL - I'll make another one.
This piece started out as a pair of pants that were cut up and shifted so that the side seams became the center front and center back of a coat. While working on the coat, I cut apart the center front seam and then later, when I changed my mind, it was re-stitched, the bodice and sleeves removed, and the bottom became a skirt with the original side seams of the pants now the center front and center back of the skirt. It went from pants to coat to skirt and is mostly resolved. I hope to finish it the week after next once my daughter and grandsons have gone home. It has been a VERY fun piece to work on and while I'm waiting to finish it I'm forward making the cut off bodice into something else.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - to not cling or holding precious
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