Top 5 misses of 2016

It's quite hard to narrow down my top misses for 2016. Not because I have so few but because it's hard to define exactly what constitutes a sewing fail.

When I started compiling this list I had 10 items on it...which is a lot. Many of them are an "okay pattern" that suffered from a bad fabric choice by me. I've decided to remove those from my list of 2016 and focus on those makes where the pattern really went wrong for me.

So here we go...

1. Seamwork Wembley Cardigan

There's nothing good to say about this cardigan. It's ill-fitting and gapes weirdly at the neckline. The sleeves are neither long nor short - just an odd length. I actually made THREE toiles of this (as I'm clearly insane and a sucker for punishment) trying to get it to work. Waste. Of. Fabric. Into the bin you go!

2. Seamwork Mesa Dress

Another Seamwork pattern that was a massive fail on me. WHY can I not find a dress pattern that works for me! This fitted me so badly that there's no photographic evidence of it on my body. Time to move away from Seamwork patterns I think (though my first Oslo Cardigan did turn out okay just FYI).

3.  Moneta/Lady Skater mash-up

Still on the hunt for a dress pattern I moved away from Seamwork and back to Colette's Moneta Dress with a Lady Skater Skirt as I cannot face gathering a skirt using elastic. The first time I made a toile of this pattern I sewed the XL bodice and nearly had to be cut out of it. This version is the size 2XL and it fits on my body...but badly. When I look at the pattern pieces the front and back bodice are the same...what? The fat rolls on my back are definitely not size DD! The neck is too high, the armholes too small/high and it feels weird. 

4. Marianne Dresses #1 and #2

I'm about to give up on dresses! The fabric on this dress is great but it looks awful on me in real life. Really! The neckline is WAY to high/small for my liking and the sleeves are too small for the sleeve head so it's tight and uncomfortable. 

For my second attempt at this dress I left off the sleeves -- good in theory but the fabric is too stiff and really hot and sweaty. Get. Off. My. Body. I lowered the neckline a bit but it's still too high *chokes*. I'm willing to give this pattern one more try - in better fabric with an adjusted neckline so I can breath.

5. Rae Skirt

I actually thought I liked the Sewaholic Rae Skirt but now that I'm trying to finish up a second in chambray I've decided it's not for me. The length is a bit dowdy and I am not having fun trying to install the waist elastic (couldn't get that part right in this not wearable toile either). I think the chambray Rae might =  UFO.

That's all folks...

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