Not Quitting My Day Job

Have you ever wanted to be really good at something, but just weren't? It doesn't matter how hard you practice and try, you just can't seem to master it? That's me with sewing. I'm not bad at all of my sewing projects. I am actually pretty good with clothing patterns and simple undertakings like bibs and appliques. But I've been sewing for long enough that I should be really good at constructing and creating all of the things I put under my presser foot.

But alas, I'm not.

I have been wanting to make Penelope a sunsuit for a few weeks now. I found a few online printable patterns, but my printer wouldn't cooperate and I ended up with really tiny, askew shapes instead of workable pattern pieces. I've studied enough tutorials and have made plenty of simple dresses with my own stash of patterns that I felt confident I could make one without a pattern.

I used an outfit I already had as a template and worked on her sunsuit at night for a week. It was simple and came together easily. I had most of the outfit completed when I realized that it looked really big. I tried it on Beatrice and it totally fit her. Hmph. Undeterred, I trimmed down the sides and reconstructed everything. Still huge.

It's not good. The stride is really long and has a weird bunching effect. The open back is too low cut. The ruffle in the front is too high and frilly. The sides are narrow and loose. I messed up the whole thing and I can't entirely figure out how or where I went wrong. I am so upset about it. The wasted fabric!!

It looks really stupid on Beatrice, as you can see, but you should see it on Penelope. Oh my, it looks like a weird, huge potato sack with ruffles. I laughed. And then I cried. Not really. I still want to try to salvage it into a wearable outfit for Penelope, but I don't know where to begin. I will be purchasing a sunsuit pattern at Joann's immediately.

Ugh, why can't I just be good at this??? It has so much potential, dontcha think?