Invincible

That's how I feel. Not because I scaled Mount Everest or swam the English Channel. No, I'm feeling invincible because I conquered my fear of sewing patterns out of magazines. I bought this one back in May. It took a few weeks for me to work up the courage to trace the pattern and add the seam allowances, but I managed to get that done. I even made it through cutting the fabric. And then it sat...and sat...and sat. The instructions in the magazine aren't particularly complicated, but they're not exactly extensively illustrated and, being a visual learner, I really rely on pictures to explain written instructions. Yesterday, I decided that I'd put it off long enough and the time to sew had come.


It was a lot less painful an experience than I expected. What I discovered was that I've sewn enough clothes to be able to fill in the gaps and that I have my own preferred methods for sewing in a facing or binding a seam. That probably adds to my sense of invincibility.
As to my opinion of these patterns in general, I think paying $9 for a magazine loaded with usable patterns is perhaps the bargain of the century provided that this is not your first or even second sewing experience. The patterns are all graded in terms of difficulty, but the absence of hand holding in the written instructions could make them frustrating for a true beginner. If, however, you've sewn a seam or two, then, wow...these are fabulous, eminently wearable clothes. And having taken this step, I'm feeling emboldened to try my hand at some Japanese patterns. If that goes well, I guess I might just get cocky enough to don my suit and dive into the channel.