I'm bored.
There, I said it.
I'm having fun with my daughter and hearing all of her Elizabeth-isms first hand. (Example: She learned how to spell CAT on her laptop, then looked at me and said, "Okay. Now how do I spell AWKWARD?" I pity that girl's teachers. God help them.)
But she's 4, and she's independent! All she needs me for is 1.) help her put on socks, 2.) switch DVD's, 3.) wipe her butt if she poops, 4.) make lunch, 5.) cut up carrots for snack.
Honestly? I'm feeling kind of useless. She's not a baby with round-the-clock demands, and she's not a toddler who wants Mommy to play one-on-one all day. She's a preschooler! She's quite happy to play in her own little fantasy world of Littlest Pet Shop dramas without me.
What have I been doing with my SAHM time? I re-read 2 novels from my book shelf. I watched my first episode of Days of Our Lives in 3 years (who ARE all those new people?). I made batches of soup and stored them in my freezer. I took a few naps. And, I decided to go all Martha Stewart and make Elizabeth's Easter dress.*
(*Side note: I've never used a pattern before, and my sewing machine scares the beejebus out of me. But I have watched many episodes of Project Runway and if those people can sew, DAMN IT, so can I.)
My Mom is a Home Ec. teacher (a breed of dinosaur that will soon be extinct, like Latin teachers or History teachers that DON'T coach) and she helped me out. We picked a "Simplicity" pattern, a couple yards of clearance blue satin, ribbon, thread, flowers, etc., and went for it.
Holy. Hell. Whoever labeled that pattern as "Very Easy" needs to be shot in the head. Repeatedly.
I figured out how to cut the pattern, but actually slapping the pieces together? Gawd. Even my mom had no clue what they were trying to say and threw the instructions on the floor, saying, "We'll just do it my way."
10 hours of cursing, headaches, and screaming fits later, the dress is finished:
It's gorgeous! And....my Mom made most of it.I suck at sewing, internets.
Remember how I said in this post that the lifetime SAHM's in my family swore that I could make up my lost income by sewing? Hmmm...let's compare the cost.
Homemade Dress:
Pattern: $7.00
Fabric: $3.50
2 types of thread: $7.00
Ribbon: $5.00
Flowers: $3.50
10 hrs. of my labor at $10 an hour: $100.00
Total: $126.00
Store Bought Dress:
Pretzel from Auntie Anne's: $4.00
Dress: $60, but on clearance rack for $15.00
1/2 hour of "labor": $5.00
Total: $24.00
My conclusion? Sewing would be a nice hobby (if pattern instructions didn't make me want to jam needles in my eyes) but there's no way I could make our clothes and save shit loads of money. The materials alone cost more than my normal clearance finds!
Sorry, Grandma. That SAHM theory has been disproved.
13 comments:
hahaha I know exactly what you mean about sewing. While my mom is not a home ec. teacher (and you're so right...home ec. as we knew it is no more) she can sew anything. When I was younger, she made many of my clothes, and she is frequently called upon to make bride's maid's dresses (for those unbridezillas who don't think their bride's maids must spend 48 bajillion dollars on a tacky dress that will never be worn again.) I do well to sew buttons back on.
You (um, your mom) did a fabulous job on Elizabeth's dress. And just think--that is one less thing to have to think about as Easter draws closer.
I want a sewing machine sofa king bad. Why? I have nofa king idea! I don't know how to sew and I think it would just collect dust, but I still want one.
Elizabeth's dress came out ADORABLE!
I love the cost breakdown also (although, only giving yourself $10 an hour is probably a HUGE understatement)! Touche', Jaci, Touche'...
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Grandma and Aunt!
PS:
What is this History teacher that is NOT a coach you speak of? There really isn't such a thing is there?
Awesome dress! I appluade the energy use! I just cant sew to save my life. I get brave occasionally but I know better than to attempt something that someone would wear. lol
My aunt is a seamstress and made a whole wedding party, including the wedding dress. talk about impressive!
Great job on the dress, it's adorable! That blue will look good with her hair! I applaud you, I would never in a million years try to make a piece of clothing for my daughter, unless maybe it's supposed to be a Halloween costume. And then we're pushing it. Anyway, great job! And PS, I love reading your posts, I love that you're so down to earth and tell it all like it is!!
I sew quite a bit, but never anything that cannot be done with straight lines. You can do a lot with straight lines, but this dress, them look like curves to me. Oh, and it is silky and slidey, I really don't do anything other than cotton cuz it scares me. Great job for trying and getting it done, even if "some help." was needed.
As for the money saving bit, yeah not so much. Pretty sure that until you work in bulk orders (people with 6+ kids?) you can't beat a good target sale.
3 days and bored already? Don't blame you. I went back to work when mine was three - and I must say - when I'm off for any stretch of time; it does get boring. Except now - he's old enough that he has his permit - so it's constantly - do you need to go anywhere? Huh, huh? Do ya? Cause I'll drive! I'm into my second week of vacation and I'm ready to trade him in!
Beautiful dress! See - you are one up on all of us for the next big celebration! That is one that I would save for her; cause mommy (and grandma) made it special.
I love sewing! I just don't have much time anymore.....And it gets pretty frustrating when my 3yr old has to climb into my lap singing "Up and down, Up and down" repeatedly every time I try to sew anything!
Yeah, nest time just buy the dress and have your mom watch Elizabeth.
Beautiful dress! My girls are size 6 and 8 btw. Seriously, though, homemade clothes are WAY more expensive than the ones I shop for. How did that happen? Why did that happen? Unless, maybe, if you have 10 kids and buy fabric and thread in bulk. Ma Ingalls would be so disappointed.
Jaci - you did an awesome job! I'm a professional seamstress and I run from satin like it carries the bubonic plague. That stuff is hideous to work with and all the ribbons and flowers just add to the problem. I agree with another commenter that you should definitely save that dress for her (and maybe attach a copy of this blog post to it).
Thank you for helping me come to the realization that I really don't want to learn how to sew. Because reading about some people's joy of sewing kind of makes me want to be domesticated like that. Ahhh. Much better.
My husband told me he's sure I sew better than I did 14 years ago. I laughed. I cook better. I clean better. I don't sew better. I enjoyed making a couple of Easter dresses for my girls when they were little. I liked to make them match for pictures. It was a nice hobby.
Clearance racks after Christmas. The end.
I totally agree with you on the sewing...it is just plain NOT CHEAP to sew anything! I tried to go cheap with my niece and MAKE my own rag quilt- thinking there was NO WAY i was paying someone 80 bucks for a quilt I can make MYSELF...well my first sewing experience, $120.00 later...the damn quilt was made! I KNEW I should of just bought the dang think on etsy and called it my own! lol
PS....the dress IS adorable- and my mom did half my quilt too!
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