Nastajae's Journey Learning to Sew by Nastajae Alderson

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:42:43 UTC

This is the original gown before any modifications were done.

Attempt 1

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:43:05 UTC

This is the hole before any sewing was done to it.

Attempt 1

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:43:32 UTC

This is a view of the sewing from the inside out. It is bulky, but eventually straightens out towards the end.

Attempt 1

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:43:45 UTC

As you can see, the shorts are now slightly distorted, because of the lines not being straight when I attempted to sew the whole closed.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:44:02 UTC

I found an old tube dress that I had, and placed it on the nightgown for reference in length and width.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:44:16 UTC

I had not worn this dress in a while, so it fit me a bit tighter that I wanted the new one to fit me. I first measured myself, then I place the tape measurer on the dress to see the differences. Unlike my previous attempt at making something to wear, this project required me to cut both sides of the gown. This means that I had to hand sew both sides together, and keep them straight on my own.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:44:36 UTC

This is the dress from a front point of view. I am very pleased with it. If I were to do anything differently, I would fold over the top and sew it down, so that it is not obvious that I made the dress from something else.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:44:53 UTC

This is just a close up to show that the lights were a lot straighter this time. It is a challenge getting the thread to not be so obvious. I was highly motivated to do this one, because I love cats, and I was eager to see if I could really do it. I was afraid that it would pop open when I put it on, but everything fit perfectly.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:45:11 UTC

I was very proud in this moment. If you refer back to my last check in video, you will see that my dress had excess in the side and was hanging down. I was proud that the bottom of the dress like up perfectly with one another. I did not like the fact that you can see the thread, but the dress stayed together and was not off centered.

Attempt 2

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:45:28 UTC

I started by finding a skirt that I felt fit me well. I then placed it on top of the shirt and outline the exterior.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:45:46 UTC

These show the lines where I measured the skirt. I well over the exterior about 1 inch to give myself room for error in cutting.

Attempt 2

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:45:57 UTC

This is the finished product. I did not cut it correctly, because I did have some excess off to the side when I sewed it together. The shirt had stretchy material, which I think helped make it easier to fit me. I added the split for a little extra pizzazz. I was not very motivated to finish this skirt, so I left one side of the shirt in its original hem so that I did not have to sew both sides completely.

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:46:17 UTC

My first attempt - All images from Feb 27

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:50:22 UTC

In the beginning, I wanted to start with sewing holes. I found some old shorts that I did not wear anymore or clothes that already had small holes in them. I was terrible at this stage. You could see the wrinkles from the thread after I was finished, and I was not happy about that :(

Attempt #2 - All images from April 10th

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:52:42 UTC

This attempt to make something was a lot more successful that the first. I actually took an XL shirt from the thrift store and created a skirt from it.

Attempt 3 - Images taken from 5/1-5/7

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 03:58:05 UTC

I was really proud of this attempt. I turned a large nightgown into a fitted body con dress. I took more time with this attempt. I measured how far around I needed it to be. I was about an inch short, so it could have been a little less tight than it was. I am not the biggest fan of being able to see the thread from me sewing after I finished, but overall I was still proud. My lines were straight, and none of it popped open when I put the actual dress on.

Graduation

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 04:01:25 UTC

I did not take many pictures of tiny things that I did, but I did so a ruffle into this dress to give it a slight slit effect, and I thought it would be cool to share!

New Skills

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 04:15:56 UTC

This creative learning project has helped me in ways that I couldn't have imagined. I have learned how to be so much more patient with others, and with myself through this project. Threading a needle in itself was enough to make me quit and change project directions on day 1. I am glad that I decided to stick with it. Through this project, I watched a lot of videos of people using a sewing machine, which has inspired me to purchase my own. I completed my project sewing by hand, but I saw how endless the possibilities would be if I did decide to purchase one. My grandmother sews quilts and tailors dresses, so I can now take my skills to her to have at least a foundation now because of this class.

New View on Creativity

nastajaea — 2024-05-09 04:18:05 UTC

This creative learning project and course has helped me learned how to be myself and live in my creativity. Since completing undergrad and working full time, I felt like my creative energy had died. I didn't have the time to invest in it anymore without feeling guilty for not doing something else. By having deadlines and mini projects along the way leading up to this one, it has shown me that I do have time. If I pretend that everyday I have an assignment due for this class, then that is me making time for my creativity. Also, I felt an enormous amount of joy watching everyone else complete their creative projects. It was good to see some familiar faces, but also just good to see that everyone was all in the same boat. We were all trying something new, which made it easier for me to take the risk and continue with the project.