What I learned from sewing

I've learned lots of things from sewing for the past two years, but after seeing some ads pop up online about eShakti and their customize-able clothes, I thought I would share a bit about what I learned about clothes from sewing.

1) Count it a miracle if anything really fits well off the rack.

This is because clothes are made to standard measures, but we're all different. In an effort to fit "most" people, clothes are generally made in an "average" cut, which means they mostly fit everyone poorly in at least one way. One of the early pieces of advice in sewing is to make a test version (a muslin or toile) to take care of fit issues because it's assumed that the pattern will not fit you correctly.

I have a rather small bust, and I learned quickly (by trial and error of course) that patterns/clothes are made for a standard bust/cup size. If you're smaller or larger, the clothes aren't going to fit correctly: droopy/overly revealing tops or practically bursting at the seams. There are a million different waist to hip ratios as well, which means it's normal to need to have alterations made to pants. If your calf muscles or upper arms are larger than what the clothing company planned, you'll probably have fit problems with pants or shirts and jackets.

2) I probably could have been adding pockets to my clothes for a long time.

There are a number of alterations which are actually not that complicated, adding pockets being one of them. I've had tailors take in the waist band of pants that gaped too much, and sleeves shortened, but there are actually lots of other things that can be done easily. I bought a Tara Jarmon dress from Vide-Dressing.com, and when it arrived I realized the low price was because the lining was rather worn at the seams and had even torn a bit on one side. I hand stitched it back together, but I've recently been thinking about replacing the entire lining because lining is relatively cheap and it would prolong the life of the dress.

3) High quality fabric goes a long way

An early project was an ambitious crossed front dress I made with a rayon knit. I was proud to be pushing my boundaries by sewing with such a complicated fabric, but in a year and a half of ownership, several areas have started to pill. There are other fit problems, so I think one day I will re-purpose the dress, but I think a better quality fabric could have saved the day (but I didn't want to spend a fortune when I purchased it, so you get what you pay for). Higher quality fabric usually means more expensive clothes, but if can hold up under washing and ironing and take the wear and tear, it's usually worth it.