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Fake it till you make it
For the Mop Jacket, I made a mini version to help explain the way the collar has to be sewn. I have talked before about the maths of sewing, and this collar is ‘topology’ in maths (not to be mistaken for topography, which is a part of geography that I struggled with a lot).
So I made a mini example which can be referred to as a mock-up. Some sewistas also use the term muslin. A muslin is a real-size sample of your garment-to-be-made (or a part of it).
Personally, I prefer to make two in one go. I start with a fabric that’s somehow been lying around for too long already (you can also buy leftover material at the thrift shop or market). I carefully choose the colour and material, as it has to help me answer questions about the sewing construction, the fabric structure, the way it floats and moves, or the colour scheme. I also like it to be a garment with full potential; perhaps too crazy, too dull, too warm, too vulnerable, too whatever, but interesting.
This is, to me, the best way to learn and experiment. Depending on the major challenge, I finish one first or sew them in parallel. Finishing one will answer questions on size and fit. Working in parallel is very helpful for figuring out the sequence of sewing and turning around questions. This doubling is also very effective when I teach how to sew something in classes. By being one step ahead, my students can feel, fold, turn around, and examine how to do the next step themselves.
The mini mock-up Mop Jacket was one in a long history of helping myself and others with the 3D puzzles that sewing can create. I’ve made several crazy cuddly stuffed horses (photos!!!), favourite blouses and trousers (more pictures) to test construction, length, and cut. Often, my ‘twin’ pieces become favourites. But the twin Mop Jacket looks like a prop from Harry Potter that nobody wants to have :(.
But failure is included in the noble art of sewing. I’ll say: fake it till you make it.
What’s the story behind one of your fails?
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