It was a dark, stormy night. (Or rather it was a hot and dry Tuesday. But whatever.) With a steady hand and a practiced eye, I put shears to fabric and created a masterpiece by following a Simplicity 4119 pattern. (I cut myself with the seam ripper and broke two needles.)

I’ve been sewing off and on since I was a teenager. Of course, I made doll clothes as a kid and fashioned brilliant gowns from my mothers linen napkins, but when I was a teenager I actually attempted making my own clothing. My efforts were often more miss than hit. For one thing, I steadfastly refused to measure, iron or bother to use the right kind of fabric for the project I was making. I made pillowcase dresses, cut up and resewed t-shirts and scoured thrift stores for cool pieces that I could alter. I split the seams of my pants and made bellbottoms. I was skinny and cute and probably looked ridiculous, but I managed to pull off wearing rags much of the time.

My husband bought me a sewing machine soon after our son was born. I made a pair of curtains, complaining the whole time that I missed my mom’s machine. They were terrible. I was used to my mom’s machine… but only if she was there to help me re-thread it, wind the bobbin and deal with jammed thread. With just my Simplicity Fashion Pro manual to guide me I would often end up in tears. But, I kept at it and up until a year ago I used that machine for quilting, dressmaking and any other project I undertook. Then I got my Brother machine and discovered the pure joy and smooth-as-silk perfection of raw horsepower. Ahhhhh.

The one thing that has continued to elude me has been successfully using a pattern. I am not gifted with patience. I may read the instructions, but I usually don’t follow them. I try to take shortcuts. I decide to tweak “one little thing” and end up skewing the entire piece. Or I get confused with the directions and throw it in the rag bin.

Well, not this time. I pressed. I pleated. I ruched. I made darts. I used my ductape dressform and pinned and measured as I went. And you know what? It really took me not much longer than when I just wing it and use an old dress for a pattern. And it fits! It fits my top heavy boobs and my nonexistant waistline and doesn’t make me look pregnant. I daresay its quite cute!

I feel like I should bake a pie or offer up my firstborn in thanks for the blessings bestowed on my by the sewing gods. How mighty thou art!