So I finally got around to making one of the items on my Fall SWAP. This week. The last week of February. In which it's been, on average, 76 degrees during the day. (Tomorrow is supposed to be 86.) So that's been super-useful, wardrobe-wise.
Here's my inspiration garment:
Here's what I made:
Um. It looks better in person. Honest.
It's a little hard to see because of the bad photo. And the black fabric. Which, by the way, I salvaged from a CP Shades tent-dress that I bought circa 1993. Yes. I am that thrifty. And when I say “tent” dress, I mean, “Three people and a small dog could sleep in it. Comfortably.” There was some sense in saving the dress. Once upon a time it was a really nice rayon brocade fabric and as mentioned above there was a lot of it. In truth, it’s a little too worn and pilly to really be very nice now. However it made the perfect wearable muslin. Since it made... a muslin. And I'm wearing it. HA!
(insert smug in-your-face happy dance here)
So to make the above garment I decided, against my deepest inclinations and sense of morality, to purchase a pattern for a pillowcase dress. Yes. That's right. I purchased a pattern for a pillowcase dress. With money. Real money. American. Dollars. Moooooooneeeeee.
I feel... dirty.
But, I just couldn't be bothered to draft my own pattern from scratch. And if truth be told, I only paid $1.99 for it. Which is about the limit of what it’s worth, I might add.
As it turned out this pattern was a good basis for my further design modifications, which mostly was to change out the simplified (and rather unflattering) gathering on the front yoke to nice, deep, stitched pleats and to make facings for the casings instead of foldovers. I think both features add character to the inspiration garment.
Clear as mud? Here’s the actual muslin muslin which shows the pleats a little better.
You can see where I added 1.5” for my usual FBA at the center front and then just spaced the pleats evenly to make up the distance of the original gathered pattern.
All around, I like this top. Of course, I can only wear it in the winter because frankly, ain't no way in hell I'm wearing a sleeveless top without something else underneath it. Seriously. People do not need to be subjected to my upper arms. I'm pretty sure there's something in the Geneva Convention specifically about that.
However, as it's supposed to only be 70 as the high next week, I think I'll make another version using the color-blocking idea from this inspiration set… er… that I made... er... last summer.
Some day I’ll actually sew a garment the season before it’s supposed to be worn. Some magical day.
*Sewing With Half A Plan.