Well, that's a wrap! For my Masters program I needed to use YouTube and blog posts to learn something new.
I can now say I successfully learned how to read patterns! Or at least one pattern...
To find out more about my project and see some catches I made along the way you can:
I can now say I successfully learned how to read patterns! Or at least one pattern...
To find out more about my project and see some catches I made along the way you can:
- read through my Making Progress post or
- watch the videos below!
Overall I'm extremely surprised and happy with how my dress turned out! My biggest challenge was definitely taking the time needed to be precise at the beginning of the pattern process. I think that aspect of this is what makes patterns less appealing to me than just figuring something out on my own. A typical dress that I've made before takes maybe a total of 4 hours... I don't even know how many hours this B6318 dress took. So much more time, that's for sure!
The only thing I don't love about it is how high the neckline is - it almost feels like it's choking me. In the future if I use this pattern again, I may alter the bodice pieces to accommodate a slightly lower, more scooped, neckline.
Another thought was to have the tie not wrap around the front of the dress, but instead just be tied in the back without wrapping it.
Another thought was to have the tie not wrap around the front of the dress, but instead just be tied in the back without wrapping it.
This pattern novice needed help!
At the beginning of these Masters courses we discussed the difference between being a novice or an expert. In my first blog post I describe this idea as follows: "... to become an “expert” in something you’re supposed to practice it for 10,000 hours." On the other hand a novice does not have that experience background.
Even though I felt confident in my sewing abilities before this project began, I wasn't an expert by any means. I'm still not. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) suggest that experts are able to retrieve their knowledge readily and apply it to situations by chunking information into relevant pieces. For many parts of this project I was able to figure things out quickly because of my background knowledge of sewing. However, if you look at my making progress blog post you can see the additional resources I needed to use in order to be successful in the last few steps of my dress. I didn't want to make a mistake (not for fear of failure, but instead for fear of having to rip out all the seams to remedy a mistake - it's a pain.) An expert wouldn't have needed to check things on YouTube. I'm just a novice that knows how to access useful resources.
I can say that this project was definitely in my wheelhouse in the sense that I'm a visual learner. Being able to watch videos and see photos of similar projects helped me in my understanding of new information.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school: Expanded edition. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
Even though I felt confident in my sewing abilities before this project began, I wasn't an expert by any means. I'm still not. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) suggest that experts are able to retrieve their knowledge readily and apply it to situations by chunking information into relevant pieces. For many parts of this project I was able to figure things out quickly because of my background knowledge of sewing. However, if you look at my making progress blog post you can see the additional resources I needed to use in order to be successful in the last few steps of my dress. I didn't want to make a mistake (not for fear of failure, but instead for fear of having to rip out all the seams to remedy a mistake - it's a pain.) An expert wouldn't have needed to check things on YouTube. I'm just a novice that knows how to access useful resources.
I can say that this project was definitely in my wheelhouse in the sense that I'm a visual learner. Being able to watch videos and see photos of similar projects helped me in my understanding of new information.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school: Expanded edition. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
What's in my sewing future now?
I actually have two other patterns that have been sitting in my closet since I bought this pattern. While I was on vacation I went to a little dime store and bought some more fabric, too! Now that I don't have to feel intimidated by a pattern I can actually attempt to make some quality pieces!