june at noon

Sometimes you have to soldier on and get a piece done, whether it’s because you need to do it for some reason or because you know you’ll grow from having done it. But I’m so achievement-oriented at times that I can easily get caught up in the completing of a project rather than the enjoying. I’m trying to remember that sometimes it’s ok to say, “I just don’t care that much about this (or it’s just not coming together), I’m done.”

And that brings me to part 2 of my summer wardrobe rehab project: the part that wasn’t. Despite some successful attempts at throwing together a quick vacation clothing rehab, I had some real duds.

I give you **Exhibit A**:

In theory, taking a men’s dress shirt and turning it into a tank is a great idea. And, actually, the refashioning part was simple and worked like it was supposed to. (Multiple tutorials for this sort of thing are available online.)

I made two of these. In the end, though, I just didn’t have a look that I really liked on my own body. I kept wanting to try to fix them, but I finally admitted I didn’t like them enough to invest any more time in them. I’ve picked them apart and already have ideas for other ways I can use the fabric that have nothing to do with clothing.

**Exhibit B**: A summer dress made with leftover jersey knit and the same concept as the T-shirt tank.

This is a decent enough photo, but at a lot of angles it just looks … wrong. There are several places where it doesn’t fit nicely, depending on how I’m standing or holding my arms, and I already learned from Exhibit A that an elastic band right under my arms is not the right look for me. I’m over it.

**Exhibits C and D**: Then there’s the long-sleeved T-shirt that was supposed to become a tank but would have needed a lot of adjusting once the sleeves were cut, as well as the folded fabric left over from my scarf project that was intended to become a cozy pair of lounge pants. I ran out of interest in the whole refashioning project before I even got to these. Though part of me felt like I should do them just so I could cross them off my list, I gave myself permission to drop them.

The overachieving, Type-A voice inside my head is saying, “Wow, what a quitter!” But I think I need to remind that voice to shut up and let it be. It’s ok that I made some things I liked and some I didn’t. I learned things, had the experience, and that’s enough. It doesn’t always have to be about the finish. (Linda shared similar thoughts here and provided some affirmation.)

Besides, clothing-making isn’t really my “thing,” and I’d rather get back to projects that I better enjoy. So I’ve moved on, feeling a little freer for the lesson learned.