In my mind, there are two types of sewists – those who enjoy the constant challenge of new patterns and those that enjoy sewing tried and true patterns over and over again. There are pros and cons to each –
As I’ve said in previous posts, I am a sucker for a tried and true pattern. I love working out the kinks in a pattern and then making it many times. It may not be exciting but it sure makes things easy!
I love that working with a pattern you’ve made a few times allows you to work with more difficult fabrics. Despite sewing for 2 years now, I am most comfortable using something stable like cotton lawn or ponte de roma. I wanted to opportunity to try using something a bit more slippery and this rayon challis fit the bill! I also really love this one and this one for a similar look.
I turned to a previous post on the Cali blog – How to Sew with Rayon Challis to get me started.
I made two of my favorite patterns – the True Bias Ogden Cami and the Sewaholic Rae Skirt.
The rayon challis was much easier to work with than I originally imagined. It pressed beautifully and I had no problems with it slipping around. One additional tip I would give is make sure you reinforce the curves with a line (or two) of staystitching when you begin construction. Though I’d made the Ogden several times, this one turned out much larger than anticipated due to the fabric stretching out during construction.
Are you more of a tried and true sewist or a constant challenge sewist?
You can follow Alexandra’s day-to-day sewing adventures on Instagram where she’s @alexandrap529.