Learning to sew: I felt the fear. I did it anyway. Finally. October 11, 2011 02:01 6 Comments
I know. You thought I'd wadded my muslin. Tossed it. Lost my courage and decided to never sew again. Wrong!
I was scared. Terrified, in fact. I decided I simply couldn't use the silk brocade. I knew trying to match the dots on the center front seam would leave me hairless. So. I found a cotton I'd bought more than a decade ago. I'm not sure how it will look on me, dear readers. I'm not. Such a big print. The poppies are the size of apples. But. The colors are so vibrant.
This layout is different. Getting the fabric on grain took hours. Hours. Really.
You can see my first effort didn't quite work. But. DId I give up? No. I kept pulling. Tugging. Patting. Ever so gently. I used cans of beans and books to hold the fabric in place.
At last, I managed to get the cotton on grain. I think. I've cut the bodice. The facings. Next, the skirt. Then . . . gulp . . . I'll turn the machine on. And stitch. Oh my.
Any tips on thread color, sewistas? So many colors in this fabric. Share your opinions, please. I beg you.
Comments
Lynn Mally on May 20, 2015 12:29
I’d choose the most dominant background color—in this case a light pink.
Claire (aka Seemane) on May 20, 2015 12:29
I’d say try a dark-ish beige thread colour – it’s less likely to show up on the creamy coloured parts of the pattern design, plus if it should (hopefully) bleng in unnoticed with the other colours too. P.S Try a test swatch and post a pic for us to see in diff. thread cols?
ParisGrrl on May 20, 2015 12:29
I’d reach for pale pink thread with that fabric, but it’s your creation so you can use any color you want. Feel the power.
Candace on May 20, 2015 12:29
A general rule is that if the fabric is lighter than midtone, you want your thread to be lighter so it fades in. Or if the fabric is darker than midtone you go darker with the thread. I don’t know where this idea came from, but try it, it works! Also if you really want to check a color match with thread you should roll up a little ball of it and put that on the fabric.
I would think a light pink in this case.
Best of luck with your creation :)
Lauren on May 20, 2015 12:29
Woohoo! Good luck, and I know you can do it :)
I agree, pale pink thread sounds perfect! And that fabric really is beautiful.
K-Line on May 20, 2015 12:29
You can do it!! Keep on! I’d probably go with the pink colour for thread, or maybe an ecru/white (that goes with the background neutral). Try a couple of options – I think a dark pink would look lovely, but it won’t exactly blend – and go with the one you like best…