What Started It All

I used to be afraid of inserting sleeves. 

Easing things in was weird, and raglan was just easier. But with experience comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes the idea that after a while, you just need to suck it up and do the thing that scares you.

So when it came time to confront that fear all those many years ago, I bought Butterick 5246* and decided to try it. It's a basic pullover dress with sleeves, and I figured that since it was knit, the sleeves would be pretty forgiving. 

And it was fantastic. I loved this dress. Sure, it was wearing through the elbows, and sure, it was now too big, but oh, I loved it. It was comfortable, like wearing a nightgown to work. And I hated that I couldn't wear it regularly anymore. 

I knew it would be easy to recreate, and it would be a good way to see if I could find my sewing mojo again. If I could use it to teach myself how to insert a sleeve without crying, surely I could use it to get myself back into sewing. 

By pure luck, I had this fabric in stash. I'm not sure why I originally bought it, but it was the exact amount that I needed to recreate my beloved dress and with the perfect weight and drape.

I like to think that my recreation classed up my former comfy dress. Now, it's comfortable and fashionable -- without looking like I'm an elementary student!

From cutting to finish was just about a week -- and that included the time needed to rip out a sleeve that I'd sewn in inside out!

I don't know what it is about sleeves. 

*For perspective on how old this pattern was: I can't even find it in the out-of-print sections anymore. I had to do a series of convoluted searches on sewing.patternreview.com to find it!