handmade: japanese tunic dress pattern for mum

24 mar saturday : 11pm
(after baby E have had his last feed and was sleeping soundly)

lib: oh, it’s mum’s birthday on monday!
mr g: yes dear. we are going to have dinner with her, remember?
lib: yes I know. but I didn’t get her anything……
mr g: didn’t we share an iPad for her?
lib: yes, but it’s not personalized…. I know! I shall make her a top! a nani iro pattern top! I shall make her with a fabric that I bought at fabric.com clearance sale.

(check out the cover)

I opened the book and read the instructions. hmmm I thought to myself, it seems achievable.

I opened the pattern sheet. GOSH….. which is it?!

It’s okay, I told myself. I read the post on purl bee. It’s supposed to be like that. shade the pattern you are doing, gal. just got to focus and shade the right one. you can’t afford to screw up for this. why don’t you sleep first and wake up to do this first thing in the morning, bright and early.

25 mar sunday : 2pm
(morning sewing didn’t happen as baby E was fussing..sigh)

_found the pattern.

_tried to trace the pattern on tracing paper

25 mar sunday : 4pm
(OMG this is tedious…it takes so long just to trace and transfer?!)

_pinned dilligently so that the fabric doesn’t slide everywhere.

_transfered the marking and cut the fabric

25 mar sunday : 10pm
(it is now night time. baby E has been put to sleep and i finally get to sew the top *stress* *panic panic* hope mum knows how much i love her! )

of course I bit off more than what I could chew, as usual…… I mean who in the sane mind would attempt to do her FIRST dress/top, with a FOREIGN language pattern, use a slippery jersey fabric, with no back up fabric in case it doesn’t work AND to have to finish it in 2 days and for a BIRTHDAY present for mum!!!!

It was a disaster.

but mum was a good sport and wore it out at her birthday dinner. think she was pretty touched.

here’s how it looks like. i brought it home to try to save it and make it look better on her. somehow, a loose tunic is just not the same for somebody of a fuller figure…….any suggestions?

I will probably do one more post on this to reflect on my mistakes and ways to improve it.