I was rather nervous about cutting into this fabric. Why? Because...
I use candles to pray, to send healing energy, to remind myself to release & send it all up to the Divine for transformation. I just picked up a few new Reiki charged candles at Crystal Voyage this past weekend. As I set them up on my altar, I kept noticing that the candles I chose were the same color as my fabric. It wasn't until a day later, that I realized I could have released my fears of cutting and fabric mistakes to the Divine to be transformed. Hmm...
- it's in a color I love
- it was on sale
- I don't want to make a mistake
- I don't want to spend more money to replace the fabric if I do make a mistake
- don't want to waste it either
- I want to have even my muslin work out with only minor changes.
I use candles to pray, to send healing energy, to remind myself to release & send it all up to the Divine for transformation. I just picked up a few new Reiki charged candles at Crystal Voyage this past weekend. As I set them up on my altar, I kept noticing that the candles I chose were the same color as my fabric. It wasn't until a day later, that I realized I could have released my fears of cutting and fabric mistakes to the Divine to be transformed. Hmm...
My impromptu prayer to the Divine:
"Aho! All things great and holy, Blessed Mother, Sacred Father, Divine and ascended seamstresses, tailors, designers who have passed on, I pray, would you assist me with this creative project? I am afraid. I would like to release those fears and walk forward in faith & appreciation knowing I am fully supported and growing with each step of this project. I know there is nothing too great or too small. I know not why this is important for me, but it matters to me. I know that you would not fill me with the inspiration to see if it were not part of my sacred path. I give thanks for the help I receive. I'm grateful for the ease, enlightenment, and forward motion. Blessed be."
It feels strange to release something as minor as a sewing project to the divine for help. Sewing is part of my passion and life's work. Don't we all pray for help in our work at some time or another? Wouldn't it be easier if we released the outcomes of our daily work to Mother & Father God for assistance? As much work as I've done to trust the Divine, I still have times when I continue to get stuck in those fears and then let myself stay back and not proceed. This must be a moment that I'm being held back so I will really consider things on a deeper level than before. For that I am grateful.
"Aho! All things great and holy, Blessed Mother, Sacred Father, Divine and ascended seamstresses, tailors, designers who have passed on, I pray, would you assist me with this creative project? I am afraid. I would like to release those fears and walk forward in faith & appreciation knowing I am fully supported and growing with each step of this project. I know there is nothing too great or too small. I know not why this is important for me, but it matters to me. I know that you would not fill me with the inspiration to see if it were not part of my sacred path. I give thanks for the help I receive. I'm grateful for the ease, enlightenment, and forward motion. Blessed be."
It feels strange to release something as minor as a sewing project to the divine for help. Sewing is part of my passion and life's work. Don't we all pray for help in our work at some time or another? Wouldn't it be easier if we released the outcomes of our daily work to Mother & Father God for assistance? As much work as I've done to trust the Divine, I still have times when I continue to get stuck in those fears and then let myself stay back and not proceed. This must be a moment that I'm being held back so I will really consider things on a deeper level than before. For that I am grateful.
It was such a smooth grade on front and back. Wow! I always feel better after I measure myself and the pattern and look at the amounts of ease included in the pattern. So that was the first step I took while feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
I looked at all the pieces, measured hips in both CC and EE size. I took out each seam allowance and estimated what the final dimensions would be if I excluded the front (with welt pocket) from the grading up at the hips. I measured my underarm length, then measured the pattern and roughly estimated where my waist would be. Then graded from CC to EE on sides & back only. I lose about 1" of ease. Not too bad!
I looked at all the pieces, measured hips in both CC and EE size. I took out each seam allowance and estimated what the final dimensions would be if I excluded the front (with welt pocket) from the grading up at the hips. I measured my underarm length, then measured the pattern and roughly estimated where my waist would be. Then graded from CC to EE on sides & back only. I lose about 1" of ease. Not too bad!
I am excited to see this cut out. The color is vibrant!!! It's a cheap micro fleece from Joann's so I could test and not worry I would ruin good fabric. Though, I always aim for minimal waste, even if that means deviating from the recommended layout. I'm surprised by the excess fabric. The Jalie designers did a great job laying out for minimal waste. I think I may have not done the best job. It seems that I would have saved more fabric had I drawn the pieces full size rather than using them on the fold. This fabric did not want to behave as I lay it out to cut either. So, it's a balance between minimizing frustration, being efficient, reducing waste, staying on grain & ensuring the nap flows the same direction on all pieces.
It took me 2 nights (I had short amounts of time due to other commitments), but I finally got all the pieces cut out. Didn't seem like a lot of pieces until I got down to the last 5. I was able to conserve a piece of fleece approximately 30" x 24". Yay! Maybe I can use it on another project.
It took me 2 nights (I had short amounts of time due to other commitments), but I finally got all the pieces cut out. Didn't seem like a lot of pieces until I got down to the last 5. I was able to conserve a piece of fleece approximately 30" x 24". Yay! Maybe I can use it on another project.
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