Slowly Getting Back to Sewing (and Blogging)

Since this is my first blog post in MONTHS...I should probably explain what has kept me away for so long. As many of you know, I have struggled with hidradenitis suppurativa, and unfortunately one of the treatments is massive doses of steroids. If you flip back through these blogs you can also see me growing in size from said steroids. Go through them fast, it's like a cartoon! Last summer I made the decision that I was going to seek alternate treatments and attempt to reverse the weight gain from the steroids. To that end, I started riding my bike. Not very far at first, but working up to 20 miles at a time. Because my weight was fluctuating so much, I basically quit sewing anything at all, because it wasn't worth the effort to try and fit anything.

When winter arrived, I had to seek out other outlets, and started working with a personal trainer who specializes in kettlebell. I also joined a roller derby league. Yes, roller derby. In fact, it was roller derby that rekindled my interest in sewing, because I was asked to make "helmet panties," the helmet covers that denote who can score points in a jam:

After completing many, many sets of "panties," I was bitten by the creative bug once again and started sewing for myself. The first thing I did was start finishing up the UFOs that were lying around the sewing room, including a charmeuse tunic I had started on in June.

This tunic was inspired by a Pucci tunic that I saw online some time in 2010. Of course, it was much too expensive for me, so I thought...I can make that.

I have long contended that sewing does not save money. However, that is not an entirely accurate statement. In today's world of discount retailers like Old Navy/Target/WalMart/Cato and their massive inventories of cheap goods manufactured in overseas factories without care for basic human needs such as a minimum wage or laws against child labor...there is no way that a home sewer can beat the prices. $30.00 jeans and $8.00 t-shirts? Fabric alone is more expensive.

On the other hand...if your skills are good, you can refine the fit of patterns, and you are willing to take on more complex designs, you can make some beautiful garments that are similar to designer goods. For example, this Pucci tunic retails for $885.00:

$885.00!! For a shirt!!! Gorgeous though it may be, there is NO WAY that I would ever spend that much on a single item of clothing (even if I COULD afford it). I am sure that it is made from a scrumptious silk...that is probably so delicate I would fear to wear it.

On the other hand, I am a complete SUCKER for a charmeuse. So many fabric retailers have available an incredible number of vibrant fabrics...and let's face it, I just cannot pass up a wild charmeuse, even if it is polyester. Plus, I have a trick for sewing with charmeuse that doesn't work on dry-clean only silk....

If you have a slippery, slithery poly charmeuse that is fighting you while you are trying to work with it...just starch the heck out of it. When I have a charmeuse that I want to sew, I hang the whole length of fabric over the shower rod and just spray it all with heavy starch. Let it dry, and then cut out your pattern. It will stay stiff, and won't slip and slide all over while you are trying to sew.

Anyway, given $15.00 worth of poly charmeuse and an OOP McCalls pattern, a reasonable facsimile of said Pucci tunic can be made:

It feels great to be back in the sewing room...and there are dozens more UFOs to work on. Hopefully, I'll have some more updates soon...