Post #7 Introduction to Sewing (Hobby No. 1)

Blog post 1.2 of 2017, my first stitch fix. 

Outline:
1) Introduction to my Sewing Machine
2) Altering my NYE dress

So this was my big Christmas gift this year. I am so excited. I am hoping to change my sporadic sewing into a real hobby. So far I have completed one project, but I am getting ahead of myself. This is the Singer Simple 3221 sewing machine. It is a simple little thing. Does about 12-15 stitched and includes a button hole foot, which is pretty awesome.

I was able to set it up pretty easily. I had two big issues when starting. 1) setting up the bottom thread, but now that I was able to get it it is easy. 2) starting to sew, turns out having the tension set at 4 is too high, I moved it down to 2 and now it's okay.

The first project I did was sew some straps for my NYE dress.





NYE Dress - Stitch Fix #1

Before - fat arms

Before - as high as I could lift my arm

So I got this dress at Francesca's on New Year's Eve eve (December 30th) because the dress I had bought from Lord & Taylor on December 27th wasn't going to be delivered in time (womp womp). But lemonade out of lemons. This dress was cute and fit me well, except for one huge issue, my arms. It was a structured off the shoulder dress, and my upper arms are fat, and did not look good at all. Not to mention I could not even lift my arms past my waist, there go my killer dance moves. But, as I stood there in the dress, knowing it wasn't going to work, and my sister saying how cute it was otherwise, I thought about what might happen if I tucked in the straps (I did that with the halter straps on my prom dress, why shouldn't I be able to do that with this one?). Well that didn't work 100% but it did give my sister and I the idea that I could alter the dress myself after purchasing it. So, I psyched myself up with a pep talk (You can do this, you are crafty enough!), and I bought it (plus another dress that I didn't have to alter).
So I got home that evening, and after doing some quick hand stitching on my sister's gala outfit, I set to work on my dress.

First Step was to take some really unflattering pictures of how bad the structured off the shoulder sleeves looked on me. I mean, if I stood a certain way and didn't move at all, it didn't look too bad, but I was going to a Gala, where I was going to dance, drink, and socialize with friends & strangers, I needed the ability to move.

Step 1.5: Setting up my sewing machine. I wanted to use my new favorite toy to help me with this project to I took the time to wind my bobbin and tread my upper and lower threads.

Second Step: I needed to psych myself up again, because the second step was the hardest. I needed to CUT the dress I just paid money for, and not thrift store money, (but not Lord & Taylor money either, it was <$40), but still. So I did it, I cut the straps.

Third Step involved me securing the remnants of the sleeves. I was going to do a quick straight stitch on the end of the cut strap with my sewing machine, but I failed miserably at my first sewing attempt (caused by having the tension set too high - see above). So instead of risking the dress I decided to hand sew the remnants into place. Repeat for all four areas that had remnants. One good thing about hand sewing this part is that I was able to keep the stitches in the black of the dress pattern so you couldn't see where I had stitched.

Step 3.5: Run to Joann's Fabrics to get fabric to make into straps because after cutting the straps off this dress it turned out that strapless was not going to work.

After - looks so much better

Fourth Step had me using my sewing machine correctly and I made straps!! Albeit they are slightly uneven, but hey, they worked.

After - right before the gala

Fifth Step, hand sew straps into place - breaking a pin in the process...

Overall I am very pleased with it:





I had a great time at the Gala, and it was a good start to my 2017.
I had planned to add a second project I am working on, but this post was already a bit wordy so I will have to save that for my February Stitch Fix post.

Let me add this; January projects -
~ My first Circle Skirt
~ lengthening a dress
~ shortening a dress