It's Mocking Me...

Inspired by a ton of real life and online examples of gorgeous Washi dresses, I bit the bullet and bought the pattern plus a gorgeous length of Amy Butler Soul Blossom fabric.  (Side note:  I bought the pattern at gather here after a BMQG sew in and while I was standing in line to pay, two other guild members saw what I was holding and then immediately went to go buy their own copies!  We were joking around that if we all finished our Washi's before the next meeting, we could wear them and then look like members of the Cult of Washi.)
This is the Raspberry Sari print in a rayon blend - super soft and lightweight, so it seemed like a good possibility for a sundress!

For the first time ever, I thought that it might be the smart thing to do to make a muslin version first - especially considering how expensive the fabric was!  But to make things even a little more complicated for myself, I thought that because the fabric verged a little sheer, I'd line the top with a matching raspberry Kona.  There are videos on the Made by Rae website on how to accommodate this, and it seemed fairly straightforward to follow (can you see the writing on the wall already?).

I cut out all my muslin pieces, got the front all pleated and sewn together, ruched the back, put in the lining and sewed all the pieces together at the neckline.  Yay so far!

Now comes the tricky step - sewing on the sleeves to the armholes so that they encase all those raw edges.  And here's where I'm stuck, because something is just not right here.  When I sew things all together, it seems to look like Rae's in the video.  But then I go to turn things right side out and it's like a bad brain teaser where I just keep turning it and turning it...and it never comes right side out.  Hmph.

I ripped out the whole armhole seam and set it aside on the ironing board.  For 3 weeks.  I know that I probably missed a simple step or detail and once I watch the video again, it will all click, but for the moment I'm frustrated.

Doesn't it look right on the outside??  Yeah, doesn't look that way on the inside...it's like that stupid muslin dress is sitting on my ironing board mocking me.  And that's probably why I don't do more garment sewing.  If I can't get a handle on a simple Washi, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of hope for something more complicated.

Grr.