The Times They Are A-Changing

Things are happening here in real life. The biggest change is that I'm going to go back to work outside the home. This downward spiraling economy of our sucks big time, doesn't it? Even more than the thought of donning pantyhose again.

So, for the moment, the blog is on hold while I think about and prepare for what I need for dreaded interviews and then the office environment, and whether I'll be sewing or buying. But hey Carolyn, maybe now I'll be sewing corporate wear too! ;-)

I really just wanted to pop in and say I'm alive and well, and for everyone not to wonder about me.

Slip Fabric

Just a very quick entry today as I'm doing icky household chores and I don't want to break my rhythm. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding! ;-)

Anyway, a lot of the comments about the slip asked about the fabric. I'm sorry, but it's not some miracle fabric or anything of the sort and it's also long sold out. It's a nylon/lycra blend which has more body than what you usually think of and see for tricot lingerie. It's cool to the touch like nylon usually is and I don't worry about any heat factor because it's a slip and an updraft is always happening. ;-)

I bought it from Fabric.com (along with about 4 other colors) a couple of years ago. The link to the fabric still works so you can read about it here.

And for those who asked … I wore the coral tee with the skirt on Saturday night.

The vacuum awaits. :-(

From Zero to Two

I don't know why it took me so long to make a top to match this skirt, but now I have two, I can actually wear the skirt, and I won't feel guilty anymore for not returning and not wearing it.

This tee is just the plain ol' Ottobre gathered neckline tee. But since I really don't like "plain," I had to liven it up a little bit. I used some transfers I bought from ShopOnion when I bought a pattern. (Unfortunately, Maria is sold out of this particular design now or I'd buy more.)



I know some of you (Hi Sondra!) didn't think the lavender fabric matched the skirt, but it really does. It just doesn't photograph that way. This photo is pretty close, though. Some of the petals in the skirt are the same lavender color as the tee fabric.



So, the only thing left to do about this skirt is to make a pattern from it since that's why I originally bought it. But I'm not going to hurry on that project since I'm ready to wear it instead of looking at it. In fact, I'm going to wear it out tonight for a casual dinner with some friends. It will be the first skirt I wear in a long time that I didn't make myself. (But I could've. LOL!)

I also made the half slip I mentioned last post. From tracing the one pattern piece to finished took less than an hour. Lingerie is definitely one thing that actually saves money when you sew it yourself, and now my undies won't show through the skirt tonight. ;-)



The main objective for this slip was to be quick about it, so I did the whole thing on my sewing machine and serger because I didn't want to stop and rethread my coverstitch machine for elastic and the hem. I used plush picot lingerie elastic for the waist, narrow zigzagged it on and then turned and triple-zigzagged from the front.



Then I used a blindhem stitch to create picot edge hem, and called it done.



Stash to the rescue again!

No Longer An Orphan Skirt

You knew I was going to make the coral top, right? But I couldn't just zip through an easy Ottobre tee. Noooooo! I had to get inspired. ;-)

I saw this green RTW tee in this thread on Pattern Review.



In that thread, Jaeng shared sketches showing what she'd do to recreate that tee from a TNT pattern. I decided to turn what should have been a fast coral tee into a "project" and make my interpretation of the RTW tee and Jaeng's sketch.

I started with the Rose (I think that's pattern #5) tee from Ottobre Woman 02/2007 since it is TNT and has a nicely shaped vee neckline and neckband.



I spread my pattern a little more since I wanted deeper pleats spaced farther apart, which would be stitched down.



Overall, I'm happy with this first attempt. If I make another, I think I'll spread the pattern at the hem end a little too when making the pleats so they "flow" nicer to the bottom. It's not as billowy on me as it looks on Zillie since she doesn't have my tummy.

I had to cut this fabric (cotton/Lycra) on the crossgrain since it has striations that run selvege to selvege and I wanted them to be vertical. The fabric has 4-way stretch so it worked out fine.

I did cut out the lavender/lilac tee when I was cutting the coral fabric and it's mostly done. So everyone that voted for both, you convinced me. ;-) This one is straight from the Ottobre gathered front pattern. I'll sew in the sleeves and hem it tomorrow.



And then will I start the denim capris? No! I've decided I need one more sidetrack — a slip to wear under some of my summer skirts so I can avoid show-through. But after that, denim capris are next. I think. ;-)

Another One?

The print is a skirt I bought at Walmart (of all places!) approximately two summers ago, meaning to copy it and then return it. Well, I never made it that far and so it has sat in the closet in its orphaned state, tags still attached, because I had no tops to match it. It may be a cheapie from Walmart, but I love the fabric and the way it swishes, and I *will* make a pattern from it one of these days.

I had thought my next project would be some denim capris (since I wear them a lot during the summer) but once I pulled out that skirt again, I just couldn't get past doing something about giving it a coordinate. But that means one more coral top. The last one isn't the right style IMO to wear with this skirt, even if it's the right color.

The other possibility is to use the lavender in the photo on the right. It matches too. But, then that top will be an orphan except for jeans and this skirt. Another coral top will actually go with more in the current and soon-to-be wardrobe. Decisions, decisions.

I'm also still deciding what pattern to use. I want it to be fairly brainless, so it's either going to be an Ottobre tee, a morph from an Ottobre tee, or another BWOF shirred neckline tee.

Being such a (potentially) simple top, I thought I'd have it done today but I can't get started. I keep walking by the fabrics, looking at them, and changing my mind back and forth. Hmmm. Maybe I should just make tees from *both* fabrics.