Less Than Perfect

Sometimes there are sewing projects that I make that I feel may be just a little less than perfect.  Something about them feels not quite what I hoped it would feel like and I'm unsure about it for some reason that I can or can't put my finger on.  These are three such projects.

I read once on one of those "Better Blogging Tips" post by a successful DIY blogger that you should never, ever post projects that don't represent the best of your work and I think that maybe that thought has lingered in the back of my mind ever since.  Don't you hate it when you read something like that and then realize it has been shaping the way you think!!  I do, I especially think that in the sewing blog world it can be even more helpful when we post makes that didn't go quite like we planned because it may help a fellow sewist out there that is trying the same pattern.

So here I am today posting three makes that didn't quite "make the cut" when I was considering blogging them and now I think its time to bring them out of the shadows and take a look at why I didn't quite think they were up to snuff and why I now feel pretty good about them!

The first is this Colette Peony.  It was the first Colette Peony I completed after I made a kajillion alterations to the muslins (here's my second version if you're interested).  A couple of factors led me away from  posting this dress.
1.)  I made it from some linen in my stash that I had dyed with black dye to tone down the crazy ikat print on it.  I think I decided I shouldn't post it because of how dark this whole ensemble looked.

2.)  Secondly the fabric didn't take the dye evenly so I think I decided it just wasn't quite up to my best work.
But now looking at it I don't think it looks so bad and I actually plan on wearing this dress this winter whenever I have the chance!  I really love the shape of the Colette Peony, I still feel a bit ambivalent about how all the darts ended up on the bodice but the overall affect is good.  So here it is in all its glory to be hidden no longer!!

The second is the Made by Rae Washi Dress.  I have made the Washi dress twice and this one is made up in Anna Maria Horner Voile.  I know exactly why I felt I shouldn't post this dress, several reasons.
1.)  The first being easily fixed, I felt the hemline on this dress was too long and unflattering.  I wore it with some tall boots one day and when I realized how close the hemline came to the top of the boots I felt it just didn't work.

2.) Another mistake with this dress was the neckline, I underestimated just how much the voile would stretch out of shape and didn't properly stabilize it so its kind of wavy and doesn't lay flat.  That just annoys me.

3.) And the final reason I felt some ambivalence about this dress has to do with my deep aversion to maternity clothes and anything that looks like it might even in the teeniest way resemble maternity clothes.  Even to that point where someone might look at a dress and think "is she, isn't she."  I felt the empire waist and tucks around the front waist line might give the dress the smallest hint that it was maternity wear and I just didn't want anything to do with that! Ha ha!
But nooowwwww as I look at it I don't feel quite so judgy about it.  For one, taking up the hemline is an easy fix and as far as the "is she, isn't she" quality...meh (shrugs shoulders) I guess I'll just put a belt around the waist.    

And the third make that has languished in my unblogged photos is this Deer and Doe Plantain Tee.  And again there are a couple of reasons why this went unposted.
1.)  The first being that this shirt was the result of a total mistake in cutting fabric.  Some how I was working on this top at the same time as a Grainline Hemlock and ended up cutting out the sleeves that I intended for this shirt with the Grainline Hemlock sleeve pattern piece and aaarrgghhh they definitely weren't going to frankenpattern into this top and I was out of yardage to cut more sleeves.  Hate it when that happens, note to self- no more than one set of pattern pieces on the table at a time! So I had to fudge the armholes and try to make them work as a tank top.  It didn't turn out even or pretty, I would try it on, mark it, trim the seam and do it all over again and finally folded the seam under and topstitched it.  They still aren't even and the seam flops around- ugh.

2.)  The second reason it went unblogged was because of the neckline.  Its quite low and I felt a little false showing this picture of me wearing it with a mini skirt as an everyday piece because that's not how I wear it IRL.  Because the neckline is so low I can't wear it day to day because I am no where near careful enough not to flash people, especially when reaching down to pick up my two year old.

However I do wear this shirt often when I exercise.  It works great with my sports bra and feels really light and airy which is a must for me when working out in the southern heat.

So there you go, three projects I've hidden because I was unsure about them but now, mehhhh (shrugs shoulders again) I think its better to share even our mistakes in the sewing world, because that's how we learn right?!

Linking up to Frontier Dreams, Keep Calm and Craft On.