New Books and Banksia disaster

So for ages now I’ve been thinking that pattern drafting is something I would like to start learning how to do. I live in London so there’s lots of courses I could potentially do. And one of my lovely housemates is doing a course at Central St. Martins which I would love to do. BUT. It’s too expensive for me :( So I put the pattern drafting dream to rest and thought it best to stick to patterns and hope that I pick up skills myself.
Until yesterday when THESE little lovelies landed in my lap
Not little at all. But 3 BIG BOOKS OF CLEVERNESS. My colleague at work has had a big fall out with sewing and when I spotted them on her shelf at work and was thumbing through she offered to me and wouldn’t let me say no. It was meant to be!! All about pattern drafting and blocks and variations on plackets. Things I know nothing about. But am desperate to learn. And although I’m slightly intimidated by this page of horror wonder below…
I am most definately going to give drafting a pattern a go when I finish the disastrous Banksia. I work in a school and from now on lunch time will be reading, reading, reading.
On a separate topic, the Banksia top I’m making is not going to plan. Look.

The instructions say to lay it out on the floor and attach the collar to the main top part. However said collar was not cut correctly. And is basically much too big for main top bit. So I’ve had to fold it in at 3 points around the neck to get it to fit and it doesn’t look cool on. We will see. I’m going to finish it pronto and then pap myself so you can all see

Hello!

So the whole point of me starting this blog was to document my sewing projects from start to finish. However I’ve failed a little bit already as I’m already partway through a project. Woopsie! I’m sewing the beautiful Banksia. I’ve already copied the pattern out in my size and cut the fabric without any misshaps. Or so I thought. When it came to putting the collar together I realised I’d definately messed up cutting out the collar pieces as the fabric had somehow stretched leaving me with non-identical pattern pieces for the collar. Tomorrow I will post how (should that be whether?!) I have managed to turn a potentially disastrous start into a top that will turn others green with envy. We will see.