Recent Sewing Flops

1.  The Lego Circle was a brilliant concept.  A large circle bound with extra wide bias tape and a double drawstring:  spread it out flat to play, draw it up tight into a bag to store.  Brilliant.  I didn't do any research first and my design was flawed - the drawstring couldn't draw up.  Here is the tutorial I should have used.  (You're welcome). The circle of shame went to Goodwill because I couldn't bear to look at it and the Lego is dumped in a plastic tub for now.

2.  The peach sun dress.  It's made from the pinafore pattern.  I cleverly cut it from the front of an adult dress so it has pockets already.  But.  Something bunchy is happening under the arms and yet the armholes are too revealing.  I finished it anyway (used the orange sphere buttons) and hung it in Genevieve's closet.  I'd like to cut it into rags.

3.  The dress that is so bad I didn't take a picture.  This is a long story (you can surf away now, I understand; I mainly need to tell this because if I can't be the Good Example, maybe I can be the Terrible Warning).

My sister and my sister-in-law were my bridesmaids 13 years ago.  I chose pale blue faux linen made into long dresses with surplice bodices.  Pretty and simple.  A few years ago I came across several leftover yards of the stuff and the dress pattern.  So I thought it would be kind of funny if I made myself the dress, albeit sleeveless and knee length. 

I made the asinine decision to line the bodice by lining each piece of the bodice with pale blue satin before sewing it together (the real way to line something is to make a whole second something and then slip it into the first).  This made for some very strange seams and puffiness.  I discovered that the faux linen could not hold a crease, nor could it be ironed on the right side due to the raised flowers trailing all over it. (Wow, the things they discreetly keep from the bride; what else don't I know about my wedding?)

Furthermore, I did not realize that a sleeveless dress has a different armscye than a short-sleeved dress.  I recut the armscye and tried to make new facings which were essentially strips of fabric, not the convex shape they need to be. Straining fabric in odd places - uncomfortable and very homemade looking.

To top it off, I put an invisible zipper down the back without using an invisible zipper foot.  In all of this I was pretty much gloriously oblivious. 

I told my shameful story to my mother-in-law, a sympathetic listener who also happens to be an excellent seamstress and caretaker of history.  I didn't realize that she had saved my sister-in-law's dress! 

She offered me the bridesmaid dress she had laid away in storage which she was thinking of cutting up to make a dress for Genevieve.  I gave her the botched dress to cut up instead.  Now I have a historic bridesmaid dress and I am not going to screw this one up.  So it might be a couple years before you see it, until I know a little bit more about dress making.

Care to share any of your sewing flops?  Just think of all the Terrible Warnings we could profit from.