Kwik Sew 3221

My first completed project.

I really am supposed to be figuring out how to make pants for my beautiful pear shape, but one can’t just jump to a pair of Vogue jeans. I’m easing into things by starting with some simple tops. Although Kwik Sew 3221 is my third top pattern, this is the first one I’ve been able to wear, the rest turned into muslins for various reasons.

I got smart with this one and made a real muslin first. I know the pattern is really simple (a rectangle with side seams). However, how do you accommodate XL hips and M bust in a rectangle? Tapering would’ve destroyed the shape. Thank goodness KS has helpful customer service because I was truly perplexed. The solution? Cut a medium and use XL stitching lines. After making the muslin, I decided to use the XL length.

This was my first neckline and I did okay. In the future, I’ll be a lot more careful when making the facing. I got fancy and used French seams for the shoulders. I tried to make a machine-rolled narrow hem. It was my first and I could use a ton more practice. I figured out through trial and error that the walking foot was a necessitiy for the sheer fabric.

Not bad for a first attempt. I wore it to work and it didn’t fall apart!

Why I Sew

My curse has been (prior to gaining weight) to never be able to buy pants and skirts that don’t require alterations — take in the waist (a lot) and let out the hem. What’s frustrating is that no matter if I spend good money on a pair of pants or find some on the cheap, they always have to be altered.


My solution? Make my own pants. What really pushed me over the top was finding that my beloved Right Fit Blue pants at Lane Bryant would no longer fit me. The smallest size is too big. I’m happy to have lost some weight, but I must admit I did enjoy being able to try on pants that actually fit.

Oh well. Life goes on and I have more weight to lose. Rather than go through the hated ritual again, I’m willing to give up my Saturdays and Sunday afternoons in the name of garment construction. Once I decided I was making pants, dresses, tops, skirts and everything else was fair game. (You just can’t start with pants; you have to work your way up to them.) Whereas I used to lose my mind in Nordstrom and later Williams-Sonoma, my heart now lies in fabric stores.

My mother rocked as a sewist. She was amazingly good. I think all of her sisters were, back in the day, at home behind a sewing machine too. My turn. Of course I’m the only one in the family to pick up the torch. (This is what happens when you get rid of home ec in school.) No worries, I’ve always had a domestic bent.

Well, here we go …