Well, I happen to *like* some of those weeds, so there !

Current Notes : I'm one of those who prefer dandelions to roses, so take that into account...

Funny, how things roll around. First throw at grafting a neckline and armholes to the current strapless jumpsuit pattern was a crashing failure, and all efforts to save it were somewhat like installing consciousness into dirt. Even if it was successful, who would care or even want it ? Even I was losing interest. It went, cut up beyond recognition, into the scrap drawer where it won’t threaten or bother anyone ever again. I’ll be able to put it past me completely once my headache fades.

Scraping up the scraps, I idlly wondered if I’d need to start all over again with a new design to emulate, one more time. Last year, I’d briefly toyed with modifying the Princess Leia ‘Flight Suit’ for the ghouls, but I never finished, so I thought I’d look at that pattern again. That pattern was semi-original – I’d downloaded images of the original never-used Kenner pattern from a fan prototype site and worked with it until it worked on my beloved vintage Leia, and that success remains one of my big self-motivators to this day. I mean, if I can make a functioning, doll-size garment out of online pictures of a pattern, I’m capable of more than lock-step following the patterns I buy online or at Hancock Fabrics.

So I take a running start at potentially fail-ridden projects like these. At least it uses up a lot of junk fabric, and gives me good practice ! While I dug through my MH pattern files, it occurred to me that I’ve sewn quite a few patterns in there, and altered probably more. But there were no photos of my finished items, just the pictures that came with the patterns. Hmm…. so I spent a fun couple hours (boring day otherwise) matching photos with patterns, organizing revisions alongside originals, arranging the files in order and eliminating a few duplicates, reminiscing and gaining a lot of fresh views of the stash – and loads of ideas for what’s next.

One of the styles I wanna sew again is what I call the ‘Etsy dress’ – a simple sundress with wide sleeve-like straps. Very feminine, quite lovely, and I’d only sewn it once. Since the Etsy seller who makes them doesn’t sell patterns, I found something similar in my Barbie pattern books. A Japanese one. While I know just enough spoken Japanese to be considered polite (or get me tossed bodily out of a bar), I know absolutely no written Japanese at all. Luckily, the pattern books are so well illustrated, you don’t need to. Long as you have a ruler with centimeters on it, and basic sewing under your belt, that’s about all you need.

Problem is, I can’t find the pattern printout, just the scan. And I have no idea what scale I printed that one at, either. What I scribbled on the scan in PaintShopPro doesn’t work. So, when the going gets tough on the jumpsuit, you’ll probably see a quick lateral pass to figuring out how to sew the Etsy dress again. I’d been meaning to rework it anyway, since it was a bit too big for the standard MH body. Fit the Midnight Magic body great, though, so it’ll probably fit Headmistress Abigail, too – once I find my jump-off point again. Wheee. And I thought I was soooo organized…