Sewing on my own

          So I learned very quickly the importance of turning the fabric a few degrees after about every 5 to 7 stitches when trying to achieve a curve in the fabric. This method proved to be very successful, and made everything pretty easy to figure out how to sew once I overcame this challenge. The majority of the rest of the stitches are straight lines. My mom showed me that you sew things inside out and then flip them right side out to hide the seams. I have to think about how things will attach in the inside and decide in which order I will sew them before I sew them. Since there are a lot of pieces to this garment, premeditating takes a big part in my plan of action.  I took some engineering classes in high school so I already understood the idea of leaving tabs around the shape that is desired for the final product. I took a onesie that I had of Dodge’s and used it as a measuring template. I thought about each section as a 2D element that I could sew in such a way to form this 3D piece. I measured the dimensions of each piece and added about a quarter of an inch or sew to accommodate the growth of Dodge upon the completion of the piece. I drew out my pattern of the back first. Then I decided where I want a zipper or snaps to go down the front in a diagonal fashion. I took the pattern from the back and drew a line through it to create the front pattern pieces, but added about a half an inch on both of these pieces for seams. Then I drew out the pattern for an arm and for the top and bottom pieces for the feet. I cut out all of the fabric pieces using these patterns. As I sewed the back piece to the front pieces I realized that there is a piece I didn’t make a pattern for: the semicircle shaped piece that makes enough room for the bum of the baby. I refer to this piece as the butt flap for lack of a better term. I measured this piece from my template and cut that piece out of my fabric. I knew that piece would be the toughest to attach, so I tackled it right then. Since this piece was really wide and the section I was sewing it to was narrow I began sewing in the center. I went in reverse about seven stitches then turned the fabric about five degrees. I repeated this process while aligning the two pieces of fabric until I reached the end. Then I went forward back to the middle and repeated the process in the other direction. I felt extremely proud of myself when I completed sewing this piece because I basically taught myself how to taper edges on my own. My mom was extremely impressed but she knows that I’m a fast learner. I know my engingeering classes really helped me out in taking the basics I was taught and running with them. Now that I know how to sew I pretty much want to do it all the time  J