I Made a Garment

I have the diploma to prove it, but these past couple of weeks I could hardly believe that I actually earned a degree in home economics. Old-school title, I know, but back in the day it included household finance, nutrition, meal-prep and such, and of course, textiles, clothing construction and tailoring. So it was somewhat comical that I experienced so much frustration sewing my first garment in a very long time.

As daughter dear so aptly shared last week, she and I had recently both pinned The Julia Cardigan on Pinterest, and decided to tackle it together on a recent sewing day. Now you should know, Rachel has been actively sewing garments for herself over the last year, where I hadn't sewn one for myself in, say, 30 years. Yeah. So, there's good news and bad news.

Good news: I love pdf patterns. With quick delivery and easy storage, they are almost always my preference.
Bad news: For garments, there are many, many pages. That need to be taped together before (note to self!) cutting them out. The finished pattern was kind of unwieldy, but I managed.

Good news: The fabric I chose was lovely, Robert Kaufman Laguna Cotton Jersey Knit Solid in Pepper. Just my color, and so soft and potentially cozy.
Bad news: It curls! Which made it finicky to cut, piece, and finish. Also, since I rarely prewash my quilting cottons, it didn't even dawn on me to prewash the jersey knit, but Rachel suggested I really should have, so I definitely will if there's a next time.

Good news: The pattern comes with a wide range of size options, which is really great.
Bad news: I made the mistake of cutting out the size that fit my normal 'dress' size, rather than by taking my measurements. Important lesson learned.

Good news: Despite everything, it turned out really nice and is soft and comfy.
Bad news: It doesn't fit me, but thankfully fits Rachel to a T. What a deal, huh?

So this wasn't one of those projects I breezed through, but the pattern itself worked well, and it makes up into a great wardrobe basic. Just for the record though, don't expect to see another garment post here anytime soon. Back to quilting!

This project was on my 2014 Q4 FAL list!
Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.