random thoughts – Day 2,214 (Thursday) – deconstructing and reconstructing

On Wednesday, I picked up a few items in a thrift shop. I was looking specifically for items that could be converted into an element for a specific dance costume and generally for things that could be converted into various dance pieces like tops and hip belts. One of the items bought was a dark green velour skirt with an elastic waistband that I wanted to deconstruct and make into a choli top. Another is a pale pink and metallic pleated skirt that could be made into a dance hip belt.

Today, the plan was sewing, but most of the day was spent laundering, deconstructing, and ripping out stitching in preparation for cutting pieces and sewing. The waistband and zipper were removed from the pink skirt and the pleats were undone. The waistband from the green skirt was removed and the side seams undone. It took close to what felt like forever.

Started as a skirt.

The green skirt was a knit fabric with pressed in pleats and cut in an A-line design. It was hard to find the straight grain of the fabric, but after consulting a sewing book and some videos, I learned how to do it by stretching the fabric in various ways. The grain is important because it determines how the garment hangs. I've had countless tee shirts and blouses that go crooked and twist after the first wash, which is the result of the fabric not being cut on the straight grain. That is what I was trying to avoid in the remake. Ignoring the grain would result in the fabric hanging oddly and possibly stretching when worn. 

Once I got the grain business sorted out (which took forever), I laid out the pattern pieces for the same top I made a month ago. That’s when I discovered that cutting the top the correct way meant there wasn’t enough fabric for sleeves. I rarely wear sleeveless tops for a couple reasons, the biggest one being, no matter the season, I’m always cold. Even in the summer, I usually have to wear a sweater. Having a sleeveless dance top is about my last choice in tops, but maybe I can find some black mesh fabric for a contrast sleeve. 

Ended as a top.

When I finally sat at the machine, things went well up until the last step, which was finishing the armholes that were intended to hold sleeves. That’s when the machine suddenly went on strike and the stitching was messed up with skipped stitches. It was a hot mess. Swearing occurred. The machine was rethreaded. Knobs were turned. Fresh stitching was removed. Testing strips were stitched and knobs adjusted. Finally, after the fiddling, the final machine stitching was done. There are still threads to be tied off and trimmed, but that can wait until tomorrow. I’m pretty much over it for today.