My First Successful Sewing Experience: Part 1 of 3

Pattern: Dress from Butterick B4712, diaper cover from McCall's M2213
Modifications: My armhole seams were pretty ugly so I added some bias tape to clean them up a bit.

While I made some nice newborn diapers and a great (and well used) baby sling when I was pregnant, my sewing track record is pretty ugly. Let's just say I wasted lots of time and money and leave it at that. Enter a live-in babysitter who can sew and who works at a fabric store... Emily gave me some great pointers on patterns, cutting and construction. For any other beginner sewers out there, this is what I've learned from the experience:

1. If you do not 1) use pins and/or 2) iron your pieces after each seam, you would be better off wadding up the cash you dropped on fabric and notions and torching it. It would be better to indulge your inner pyro than suffer the anger and frustration of a failed project. I know that sounds like a no-brainer but this was actually my greatest sewing challenge.

2. Transfer all of the markings from the pattern to the fabric. Of course you would do that. Why would you try to wing it? Trust me on this, I've tried and failed.

3. Follow the pattern instructions. When the pattern says to do something that you think sounds a bit too much, just do it. You will be grateful five steps later when you realize that you should have done what the pattern said to do way back at the beginning.


I like how the bias tape looks except in one spot. Do you see it here? I'm not going to rip it out and redo it but I'll never like that corner.


Check out the zipper! Not bad for my second one, I think. It's a little wonky at the bottom but you can't see it unless you're looking for it.
I'll have two more FOs in the next few days along with some notes on why knitting is better than sewing...