Tutorial Review: Charlotte dress part 5: the invisible zipper

Remember a few days ago when I almost jumped in front of a bus because I couldn't figure out that invisible zipper tutorial?  Well, today I decided to try a different invisible zipper tutorial to see if it went any better.  The tutorial I decided to use was The Charlotte Dress Part 5: The Invisible Zipper from Craftiness is Not Optional.

Just to clarify, I did not actually make the Charlotte dress.  The only part of this tutorial I'm reviewing is how to insert the invisible zipper, which I inserted into another party skirt because I just loved how the first one turned out.

 

Okay.  Ready?  Let's check out the zipper.  Here's how my invisible zipper turned out with the Charlotte Dress tutorial:

To compare, here's how my invisible zipper turned out with the tutorial from Clever Nesting:

Much better this time than last, huh?  I was proud.  So let's get on with the review.

Accuracy: 9

Clarity of Directions: 8.5

Helpfulness of Pictures: 8.5
Difficulty: 7

Time: 30 min.

Overall Rating: 8.5

Recommended 

Details:

This tutorial was so, so much easier to understand than the one I tried last week.  To be fair, I had never tried to sew an invisible zipper before last week, so I can't say for sure that the tutorial was as terrible as I felt like it was or if it was just because I'd never sewn one before and had no idea where to even start.  But, on my second try with the Charlotte Dress tutorial, I didn't even have to rip out any seams!  And the zipper is totally invisible.  Hurrah!

The instructions were pretty clear and the pictures illustrated the verbal steps quite well.  The only hairy part (the reason why I took off some points on the clarity of directions and on the helpfulness of pictures) was sewing down the second side of the zipper.  The verbal directions here were a little mucked up, and the picture was cut off at the bottom so that I couldn't see the whole zipper and figure out quite what I was supposed to be doing.  I really didn't want to rip out any seams this time, though, so I pinned the zipper in place and kept trying to zip it up until I got it pinned in the right place.  This actually took three tries, which means if I had have sewn it down before checking maybe I would have hated this tutorial as much as the last one.  Who knows?

So, my tips on invisible zippers, then?  Maybe it's not as much about the tutorial as I think it is.  The key, in my opinion, is trying to zip the zipper once you have the second side pinned before you actually sew it!  That way you can see right away if you have it placed right or not and avoid ripping it out four times and wanting to shoot yourself. :)

Soo...I guess that's all I've got for ya right now.  Happy sewing and see you next time! :)

Tutorial Review: Party Skirt from Creative Spaces

It's that time again!  Today I'll be reviewing the Party Skirt tutorial from Creative Spaces. 

This will kind of be a two-step process because instead of writing her own steps for the invisible zipper, the writer at Creative Spaces links you to another tutorial.  I'll review that in a separate post a bit later.  If you didn't get a chance to read my previous post, my party skirt ended up looking like this:

Pretty darn good, huh?  Okay, so I'm still really proud of this one.  But let's get on to the review!

Accuracy:  10

Clarity of Directions:  7

Helpfulness of Pictures:  7

Difficulty:  6.5

Overall Rating: 8.5

Recommended

Details:

First of all, let me just say I would recommend this tutorial to anyone simply because I love, love, love the way my skirt turned out!  But before I got to that point, here's what I experienced.

I read through this tutorial two times before ever getting out my fabric or sewing machine, and I still had some difficulty understanding the directions.  The steps didn't appear to be separated by paragraph or any logical fashion.  Instead, they all sort of ran together.  Maybe it's just me, but if you choose to try this one out, be sure you read through it at least once before starting to avoid making mistakes.  But that's generally a good idea, anyway. :)

As far as the pictures go, they pictures weren't bad pictures, but they didn't always seem to represent the steps which the author was discussing at the time.  In addition, there didn't seem to be a picture for each step.  Luckily in this tutorial it wasn't as necessary to have a picture for each step, so it didn't affect me too much.

Those things aside, though, I loved how easy it was to create my own pattern.  I don't think it could be made any easier than doubling your waist measurement!  Bravo on that, Creative Spaces.  

And did I mention the skirt is absolutely adorable?  This tutorial gets my recommendation!  It was really easy and fun to sew, and the only reason you might consider not doing it is if you're a very new sewer and think you might not be able to conquer that invisible zipper.  So, go on and give it a try if you wanna! :)

P.S. Review of the invisible zipper tutorial is coming tomorrow, so check back if you want the whole picture.

Pink Party Skirt

 It's finished!  I'm really excited to share this one with you because I'm so, so proud of myself.  It turned out really well and I'd say it's my best project yet.  So, presenting the Pink Party Skirt!

 

This picture situation is getting pretty pathetic.  My iPhone takes better pictures than my current camera, and neither has an auto setting, so I apologize for the horrendous pics.  I am, however, really proud of the new skirt!  Here's a close up.

So, technically I was supposed to tie the sash into a bow, but I have an inability to tie bows.  So it became a knot.  I still think it looks cute.  The sash is also detachable so I can wear the skirt with or without a bow/knot.

 

I made the skirt from the Party Skirt Tutorial at Creative Spaces.  For the zipper in the back, I used the Invisible Zipper Tutorial from Clever Nesting.   I've decided to do reviews a little differently after this sewing experience.  (I plan on doing 1-10 ratings for different categories and then an overall rating/recommendation.)  You'll get a very detailed review on both the Party Skirt Tutorial and the Invisible Zipper Tutorial soon, and be prepared because it's going to be interesting.

Until then, I'll be proudly wearing my skirt around town (since it's already 85 degrees out here in Florida).  I already wore it to Starbuck's tonight!

See you next time!

Status Update

Hello blogging world!

I like to try and post at least once a week, so since I didn't have time to finish the projects/posts I was working on for you I thought I'd let you know what I'm working on!  Which is this skirt from Creative Spaces:

I'm almost finished with the skirt, but it's been put on hold for tonight because I don't have a zipper!  Don't you hate it when you don't have something you need during a late night sewing project?  This is why JoAnn's should be 24 hours!  Lol.

Anyway, after I finish the skirt I'll be posting a tutorial review for the Party Skirt Tutorial on Creative Spaces.  Be excited, because the skirt is turning out very well!  I can't wait to get that zipper in so I can show it off to y'all! :) 

Browsing around on Creative Spaces tonight I found out there's a baby version of the skirt, too.

As soon as I get the chance I'll probably try this out (and you'll get a review!) and whip up another adult sized one for my step-sister so she and her daughter can have matching outfits.  So excited!

Also in the works is a made-by-me tutorial for the heat therapy pillows I wrote about recently.  It's almost finished except I need to get some pictures in there for you.

And still be keeping your eye out for that satin teal polka dot circle skirt and an elastic dying tutorial review that I promised.  It'll be coming around once I get some dye for the elastic.  I was at the store today and had it on my mental lists, but you know how mental lists go.  Note to self:  Have a physical list next time!

Sorry for the hodge-podge post, but I wanted you to know I hadn't forgotten you!  I'll get these things to you asap, I promise!

Ta-ta for now! :)