Welcome to week 3 of super scary sewing stories.
Be warned…this week may just be the scariest…and the pictures are freaky…
You’ve been warned.
Story Number One comes from Terra over at Mama Says Sew:
“So a lot of my friends know that I like to sew. But I think they overestimate my skill. Which is flattering, but it can also get me into trouble. Like when they volunteer me for things that are out of my league. For example: one of my friends told a girl she knows that I can sew and said that I would be able to help her make over her prom dress. She wanted to hem it for her. I told her that I was not a professional, but she kept talking about how expensive it was going to be to have it professionally done and she was okay with me not being a professional. Against my better judgement, I agreed to help her. I had her over for a fitting and marked where she wanted it hemmed. I was very careful when I hemmed it. I seriously went around the entire blasted skirt with a ruler, marking the length like every freaking inch. I thought it was good. Until she tried it on and the skirt was longer on one side than the other. It was awful. And scary. To this day, I don’t know how that happened, unless the skirt was uneven to begin with. Any professional seamstresses that can offer me tips on how to shorten a full skirt would be fabulous.
And so you know, yes, it did eventually work out, but there were several heart-wrenching minutes where I thought I had ruined her dress.”
*****
Stories Numbers Two and Three come from Sachiko at Tea Rose Home:
“Story 1. {Welcome to the Quilter’s Nightmare}
Years ago, when Mr. TRH and I were still newlyweds, I started making a quilt for my sister in Japan. The only fabrics that I could afford at the time were very cheap (I mean, $1, $2 a yard) fabrics. A young inexperienced self-taught sewer, well, me, thought it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Hey, it was before Google, blogging, and such; where was I supposed to turn?! I finished piecing the fabrics, basted, and hand quilted the whole thing. I always like to wash the quilt to get a “shrunken” effect. So I did. When I pulled the quilt out from the washer… for a second my brain needed time to process what happened to the quilt.
To my horror there were rips along the seams ALL OVER THE QUILT! I cried… and cried some more.
I talked to my sister on the phone, I told her what happened. She still wanted it, so I mended the affected areas to the best of my ability.
All that work… that experience totally scarred me for life. I am a firm believer in using quality materials for quilts.
Story2. {Deep Trouble ~ No turning back~}
This happened to me a few years ago. It was a nice quiet afternoon. I was sitting on the couch cutting up some old clothes to use for my refashioning project. I was watching HGTV while cutting. When I was all done and stood up to go to the kitchen to get a drink. I felt unusually breezy down there and I looked…
To my horror… there were several cuts in the skirt I was wearing. WHAT?? How did this happen?? I thought… and the realization came to me. I did it. I wasn’t really paying attention when I was cutting the fabric on my lap, and got my skirt as well. What happened to that skirt, you asked? After much consideration, I decided to throw it away. I didn’t think having flowers and ruffles around my crotch and knee area would be very flattering of a refashion project.
The moral of the story; cut fabrics on the table!
Thank you for having me here today Liz and Elizabeth, I had fun… I mean, I got shivers writing these stories. I hope I gave everyone a scare…”
*****
And as for story number four…it’s from Amy over at Diary of A Quilter…it has to do with a girl, a sewing machine and a needle:
But like Amy said, the picture speaks for itself.
*****
I told you! This week was a scary one!
Sew safe this week everyone!
-liZ
Amy, I have a picture like that somewhere… only with a double needle. And Terra, measure from the waist.
OMG that pic is scary!!!
I thought real tailors have a sort of measuring stand with chalk which they use to draw a chalk line at the same height all around a skirt (when wearing). Cannot go wrong.
My horror story wasn’t the sewing but not paying attention to what was going on. I was cutting out fabric mitten shaped pieces for a Bible School project for 3 and 4 yr. olds to help them learn about helping Mom. The fabric was something fuzzy like fleece. I was sitting on the living room couch and the fabric was on the coffee table. I’d scoot back to be comfortable while pinning and move forward to cut out on the table. I thing I made about 40 dusting mittens. When I got done I stood up and discovered I had been sitting on a blue crayon and every time I scooted on the couch it had made a blue streek on the fabric. It took months to get the cushion replaced.
This series has me giggling. Even though I’ve (literally) felt Amy’s pain.
i cringed at the picture! and died laughing at number 3!
I have a picture like that! Although mine went through the top of my thumb, not the side. It was horrible pulling it out – but definitely if it ever happens to you make sure you pull it out before it swells.
We had a standing hem-marker that used pins when I was growing up. Loved that thing. But they’re not SUPER useful on floor-length dresses.
I don’t have a picture, but I’ve done that last one too. I was about 14… accidently stepped on the foot control while trying to fish a short bobbin thread end out from between the feed dogs. Went straight though the middle of my pointer finger, in the nail bed. A few years later I lost that fingernail when I shut it in my locked car door… there was a little scar from my incident 4 years earlier. Since then, I use pins or seam rippers or something NOT my finger to fish out short threads. 🙂
Terra- I have learned a few things about sewing and altering formals for my three daughters. Never trust the skirt is even. I have them try it on and use my measuring tape to chalk or pins to mark 4 spots, front, back and sides. That way it appears to be the same length. If it is a really full skirt you could also fold the bottom in quarters and make sure the curve is even before sewing.