My friend Beth is really into finding patterns (online, through Facebook, or in sewing stores) that include print-at-home pieces and a pdf of sewing instructions, and I’m more used to using the Big 4 patterns (Simplicity, Butterick, McCall’s and Vogue). I know that a lot of people have problems using Big 4 patterns but I find the variety of designs, cost per pattern ($1 or $2 sales regularly), and unaltered fit very convenient. So I am not familiar with indie pattern designers, but I was happy to try this one that Beth found.
The pattern said we both measured for a size Large, so I printed, taped, and cut the pattern pieces for a Large. This was also my first time using flatlocking, which is serging flat seams (like in athletic wear and kids clothes). I thought the process would be much more difficult than it was, but the stitching issues I had were much worse than I expected. When I finally figured out how to do it, I couldn’t get the tension right for the stitches to look good, so I used the “ladder” look on the outside, but then my machine kept skipping stitches and they were hard to fix once you separate the pieces so they lay flat. So this was the first thing I’ve made for myself in a long time that I was actually afraid might come apart at the seams when I wore it for the first time! I gave it a trial run at the gym and everything was fine, but I will definitely need to figure out the stitching issues before I make this pattern again.
I also think we should be a Medium instead of Large, since mine had weird bagginess around my inner thigh.
