Loli Sewing Project: The Series Begins!

By Futurowoman on Flickr

Lately, I’ve been finding myself thinking more and more about something I find really quite daunting…

I’m talking about sewing!

Of course, I have no idea what’s got into me. I'm terrified of my sewing machine! However, as much as I’d love to be able to, my financial situation at the moment keeps me from casually dropping £300 on beautiful brand dresses whenever I feel like it. So instead, I decided to start the Lolita Sewing Project!

I will be working through a variety of crafts and sewing projects, starting at first with small, easy things like headdresses, alice bows and wrist-cuffs, and working up to skirts, dresses and blouses. I would love to encourage you to join me along the way, whether you’re a self-making fashionista or a sewing novice like me!

To encourage myself to face up to my sewing fears, I decided to cute-ify my old sewing machine with the contents of a GLB sticker sheet and some Little Twin Stars notepaper:

Sorry for my bad quality photo! Be assured, a proper camera is high on the Hello Visdoll wishlist!

So I think it’s time to begin!

Setting up!

• Make sure you’ve got somewhere you can sew in! A nice wide area or a sturdy table in a place where you can fit an ironing board nearby is perfect.
• It’s important to make it look pretty! Decorate the area, keep it tidy, and have plenty of spaces to put your supplies neatly at hand. Why not put an old lace tablecloth under your sewing machine to protect the surface and make it look extra cute, or even deco your tools so you have something pretty to look at while you’re sewing?
• Be sure that you’ve got the things you need! At the very least you should have thread, extra needles, a couple of spare bobbins and a pair of scissors.

Getting started!

• Don’t start too big! It’s so tempting to run before you can walk—after all, how hard can it be?—but if you’ve had no experience, you may well find yourself with nothing more than a mess when you’re done. Set yourself small, easy projects to practise on before you push yourself.
• If you’re unsure about something, make a mockup first! Ideally this should be in a really cheap fabric, the kind it won’t matter much if you ruin. Then you can practise new things without the hazard of wrecking your precious project!

Now, I’m off to take a look at buying some of those perplexing Gosu Rori mooks and ransacking my grandmother’s 80s blouse pattern drawer. It’s time to get sewing!

I hope you’ll come along with me for the series!

(PS: How cute is this sewing machine? I wonder if it comes in a Cinnamoroll theme? Either way, do want!)