RTFM*

*Read the f&%*ing manual - IT wisdom

After spending all of last week obsessively reading sewing blogs and lusting over various pattern companies' garments, I finally dusted off my actual machine a couple days ago. Before really diving into my first garment, I finished up a couple of projects that have been languishing unfinished in the sideboard since I completed my Hey Beginners, Come Learn to Sew! course last November. (UFOs in the blogger sewing lingo, as I now know.) I thought that after all that time I probably needed to reacquaint myself with my machine, and I was so very right.

After much frustrated fiddling with various settings, and when fully sober the following morning (note to self: no operating machinery of any kind when under the influence), I finally took that good old advice and read the manual, threaded up the poor thing properly, and ta da! LOOK WHAT I MADE.

Sew satisfying. (I had to, sorry.) I really am quite proud of how neatly I finished them. And key lesson learnt here: it's time to make friends with the iron. A good press really does help.

Then I tried my hand at my first piece of clothing. I have some lush Liberty fabric I scored in the sales that seems perfect for a light summery tank top, although summer itself seems like an impossibility at the moment. I wanted to go with the Wiksten tank, having acquired the downloadable PDF pattern during my blog-binge, but my printer was playing the fool, so I decided to go for one I already had in paper form - The Great British Sewing Bee tunic top.

It was a bit of a nightmare. The recommended sizing is bizarre - I'm usually a UK 10, but for my (pretty boringly average) bust measurement the book suggested size 14, which turned out far too large, as I suspected it might. And I couldn't really make proper sense of how to insert the zip neatly given the bare minimum instruction provided and the fact that this pattern's zip insertion technique unhelpfully differed from all the ones quite clearly explained in the actually helpful technical section of the book. Or maybe I just need more practice. (And clearer instructions - it's not rocket science, I refuse to believe zip insertion can be such a problem, I mean, see how easy she makes it look?!) Anyway, all in all, not a win. Lesson learnt here: ALWAYS make a toile.

But still, it's a success. I made a top! It's a garment! (After a fashion.) I'm very proud. And since I was clever enough not to cut into my nice fabric I can abandon this toile and go try that Wiksten out after all, provided I can coax my printer into cooperating.

Next step: Project Runway.

Ah me... Always with the grandiose dreams...