Every sewer at some point will mess things up. Make peace with this.
The trick is to learn how to work through the situation to see if and how much of a project you can salvage when things go awry.
Jennifer was trimming the seam allowances on her 1970s-inspired silk caftan when she gashed the left front bodice 4 inches.
![Sewing classes in chicago: tchad: silk: jennifer: sewing 911: Deckert](http://blog.classes.tchad.biz/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSCN1002-600x450.jpg)
So the first thing you need to do as a new sewer is to put everything down and step back. The second thing to do is pick up a copy of “Sewing 911” by Barbara Deckert.
This is a great book to keep on hand when you are learning. It saves you from throwing everything out every time there is a seemingly irreversible mistake.
Barbara walks you through various cutting and sewing errors as well as problems with fit, shape, and yardage. The information is all common knowledge for the advanced sewer, and a lot of it becomes second nature: “oh, of course that’s what I should do… it only makes sense!”. But until you are able to understand the systems going on in the fabric specifically and the garment generally, get a copy of this bad boy.