I’m back with another sewing project. I took a sewing class back in March of 2016 just to make sure I gave this pattern and more importantly the material justice. I took the class twice to complete the outfit so the outfit took me about two months to complete.

 I had 3 strikes against me:

(1) The material I choose is like a light weight corduroy which was the last yard and a half left on the roll so there was no room for errors.

(2) Both patterns called for stretchy fabric and corduroy is not.

(3) The most frustrating thing was I kept losing weight during that whole time I was making this outfit. Each week I showed up, I had lost a few pounds.

I started with the skirt (pattern 8155 A) because it required more material and I wanted to make sure that there was enough. In hindsight, I should have started on the top first because it was a lot harder than the skirt. The hardest part of the skirt wasn’t the zipper like I thought. It was the interfacing. Sewing the interfacing on the waist band was frustrating because the interfacing kept moving on me while I was sewing. So my instructor told me to sew right up to the pin, turn the needle down, remove the pin, then continue sewing. If I had had the sewing machine I have now, I could’ve just slowing sewed over the pins. Other than the skirt being a little longer than desired, it turned out perfect.

The top (pattern 6795 C) was really tricky because like I mentioned earlier the pattern calls for stretchy fabric and corduroy does not give all that much. My instructor suggested that I cut the back of the top and not sew up the collar so that I could get into it. I also added a covered button to the back collar and created a button detail in the front of the collar. I used biased tape for the arm holes and the back opening. It took some tweaking but I’m able to get in and out of the top without ruining it. That was a win for me.

I am so proud of how this outfit turned out not only was it a success but I also learned a lot about sewing and having the right fit. So if you’re willing to travel to the Hobby Lobby in Conyers for a sewing class, Mrs. Lynne is freaking brilliant. Her website is http://thesewinginstitute.com/. I am definitely going back to her so I can figure out how to get my serger to act right.