I Tried To Finish

All that's left is the hem, which I would've finished yesterday except I'm afraid the invisible zipper is a dud. This is one of the items I made a special trip to Joann's for last weekend, joining the throngs of Halloween shoppers to do so. Of course it went in PERFECTLY first time, including the waistband joining seams lining up exactly next to each other across the zip. Of course. I will probably have to glare at it a week or two before I'm ready to rip out the current zip and replace it. So, I guess technically I finished the Carnival of Skirts challenge even if only one of my two skirts is currently wearable.

There's not much else to say about the skirt. It's black. It has a number of seams. It has pockets. Exciting stuff, eh? But it's the boring makes that usually get the most mileage so I'm OK with a plain black skirt. It also has a decent twirl factor, which I'm also OK with. Here's a close-up of the boring pocket. ;-)

Next up is Simplicty 1849. I seem to be on a Simplicity roll. I finally found a knit to match the burgundy-ish/magenta-ish & white plaid Magic Pencil skirt I made last winter but never wore because it was an orphan. Since I don't have extra of the fabric, I'll be making this one twice. Once to test, and then again in that matching fabric. (And if I like it a lot, maybe even once more as a dress.)

Tonight was pattern cutting night. I seem to have found a second and third wind the last few days. Saturday I dusted/vacuumed/mopped my entire house, including Alex's bathroom. Without going into detail, let's just say Ewwwww! After that, I went to the parts store for a new tail light and to the grocery store. Came home, put food away, and then replaced the tail light. Hung up some pictures. Brushed down the pool. Then yesterday, I detailed my car's interior. I spent THREE HOURS just cleaning and vacuuming. (It was almost as bad as Alex's bathroom. lol) I never did get the exterior washed, but plan to this coming weekend. It's too cold right now to even think about water outside. Although I fear by tomorrow night I will just collapse into a puddle of jelly. ;-)

Anyway, back to tonight's cutting session. I got out my trusty Ottobre TNT Tee. Carolyn has her beloved TNT dress. I have this tee. I've used this pattern as a "sloper" so many times I should be paying Ottobre royalties. Here's the Ottobre front overlaid onto the Simplicity. I cut around the Ottobre armhole, sideseams, and length and stuck to the Simplicity for the neckline. It was a similar set process for the front overlay piece, but there's a bit more "educated guessing" since the overlay has some gathering spread built into the pattern piece. But as many times as I've used this TNT now, it really isn't too hard to just wing it.

This, below, is why my Ottobre fits me so well, and why I use it for 99.99% of the knit tops/dresses I sew. The armhole and shoulder width/ angle are just perfect for me and the Ottobre sleeve goes in like a dream each and every time.

Here's the Ottobre back overlaid onto the Simplicity. I pretty much just cut out the Ottobre, saving nothing from the Simplicity except the shoulder width. No need to reinvent wheels.

Another close-up, this time of the back armhole. That's a big difference.

The Simplicity front is a full piece. I decided I didn't need that and just cut half and will lay it on the fold to cut.

Now I need to go find my tights. It is going to the FORTIES here tonight. Who ordered THAT??