Sewing Woes

I am not a novice seamstress.   I have sewed for 44 years and after all that practice,   I should be considered an advanced seamstress.  I shouldn’t have any problems sewing a simple pair of cotton cropped pants.  In fact, when I started sewing early this morning, I had every intention of completing the project and wearing my new cropped pants to work this afternoon.  (When you clerk at a gas station the  boss is more concerned that employees wear pants, not so much what kind of pants.)

*Sigh.  Deep, deep sigh.*

My mother was an accomplished seamstress.  An accomplished, perfectionist, seamstress.  She mentored me during my learning years in 4-H.  You’d think that I would have inherited some of her ability with the sewing machine.  Mom was also an accomplished cook, and I didn’t inherit any culinary skills either.  Those kind of genes must skip generations.

Maybe it’s my sewing machine’s fault!  I have had nothing but frustration with that ole Kenmore since the day I bought it back in the ’80’s.  The tension was always screwed up (the machine’s, and mine).  The bobbin would jam.  The threads would knot and break, or skip all over the place.  And that was all in the course of sewing one leg seam.  I went through needles  like any flu-shot center.   It must be the sewing machine.

I followed the directions meticulously.

1. “Pin front to back at inner leg seams, matching notches and small dots”.
2. “Stitch front to back at inner leg seams”.
3. “With RIGHT sides together, pin center seam, matching inner leg seams and notches.”
4. “Stitch front to back at side seams.”

Seems simple enough.  I even trimmed, zig-zagged, and pressed the seams.  My first inkling that something might be wrong occurred as I tried to turn the pants right side out.  I had one heck of a time!  When I finally did succeed in turning the pants right side out, it still didn’t look right.  Yah, some thing was indeed wrong.  I think I managed to sew the pants upside down.

I know I’m high waisted, but this is too much.