Checkered/Past/Sweatshirt

My kid is sarcastic.  It's nature and nurture and a concentrated effort on his part. (He's also ten, so there's not much subtlety to his sarcasm, but I'm sure it'll develop.)  So when I spotted a very probably authentic later 1980s/early 1990s print jersey knit in the thrift store, I knew he'd like something made from it--and I'd already thrifted Kwik•Sew 1650, a kids' sweats pattern from 1987, so there was no need to wonder what pattern to use.

I chose the shirt from view A simply because view B just looks too fussy.  I did consider using the shoulder contrasts from view B, as well as considered omitting the shoulder contrasts completely.

I ended up going with "only do the contrasts on the front and omit them on the back despite what the pattern says" (which is what whoever owned the pattern before had apparently done, too.)  I also chose not to add the eyelet vents, because my eyelet setting skills are not...good. (Except for micro eyelets, thanks to a generous person who passed on their micro eyelet hand crimper to me...I really should remember to use that thing for doll clothes again...)

Curtains!

So, somewhere around 2012, I made curtains

Nothing fancy, and I happened to have a lot of this cloth

which I'm pretty sure was from the glory days of the $1/yard Walmart mill ends bins.  I don't know how long I had it before making these curtains for the living room window, two curtains for the back door windows, a short curtain for the top of the over-sink kitchen window, and a tablecloth custom-fit to the kitchen table.

I do still like the print, but I was also ready for some changes.

Blue Square Dress

I got a lot of nifty yardages from the Doll Person's Destash last year, including the seersucker used for the Bluebird Dress posted last month, and also the fabric used for today's project.  It's brushed cotton, about 2½ yards of 60" wide, in a vivid cobalt blue with black, teal, and red jacquard that is pretending to be plaid.  I'm pretty sure it's also completely unsuited to the pattern I used, McCall's 5451 from 1991

I chose view B, which called for 3 yards of 60" for size 16. I was pretty sure I could make the 2½ yards work, and with at least a nod toward pattern matching along one axis of the faux plaid.  I saved a bit of length by shortening the bodice, to eliminate the blousing (and you better believe I never intended to add the waist elastic and wear this with a belt.)   And now I know I probably could have cut it in size 14, because

Hi!  Yes!  It's me! Don't I look thrilled?

Destashing

A few months ago, a few people came over to Do Doll Things, and one of them had been organizing and had a car load of fabric (and craft books) for everyone else to pick from--anything left was getting donated on the way home.

The same people are coming over again this weekend, and I've taken it as an opportunity to sort out some cloth that I've haphazardly acquired (mostly via thrift grab bags) that I know I will not use.  No, not even as hypothetical sewing for other people.  I will freely offer this cloth, and then the rest will be donated.

Please note that all those 'bed-in-a-bag' bags were originally the containers for the thrift cloth grab bags.  And there is good stuff in there!  It's just not me. (and the cardboard box on the left is full of patterns to give away.)

And I have a lot of cloth left.  A lot.  The main difference is that it now all fits into the allotted storage spaces.

Yeah that's not pretty, but it's still way better than it was.

The bits inside the table are mostly intended for larger projects, like curtains and patchwork blanket tops, although there are also lengths that currently have no clear use (including some of the cloth chosen by the kiddo for potential Obnoxious Shirts, which he may or may not be interested in any longer.) The suitcase cloth is largely bits that have been sent to me for doll use, as well as cloth from the doll person's destash, and, yes, thrift store grab bag cloth.  I really do have the (possibly deluded) idea that I can sew through enough of this that I can put away the suitcase and work the last bits of this cloth into the dresser that holds the doll cloth I've (mostly) acquired intentionally

Yeah, it's full.  And the box on the left, with the three round stickers, is full of fancy embroidered interior dec samples and vintage handkerchiefs, because, y'know.  Sewing.

Still, it's a nice feeling to be approaching the end of my "three months of no buying cloth or dolls" experiment and be...eliminating cloth...?

Now, to work on using what I do have.

Floral Knit Again

Sooo, when I finally got around to making the sweatshirt in the last post, I had the sudden idea that I'd like to also have a little cardigan made from the same floral knit.  I had more than enough of the knit left, especially since I wanted the cardigan to be cropped and ¾ sleeve, and with lots of edge bands in a solid black.

I have two cardigans that are the same style that I thrifted on separate occasions, and they served as the template for the idea of this cardigan--I considered using one of those existing cardigans to make a new pattern, but I wanted this project to be fast.  All the cardigan patterns I had, though, were roomier, and I wanted this to be very slim.  So...maybe use a shirt pattern?  I'd want straight sleeves, though, and not something with the room associated with buttoned cuffs --and also, slim fit, so none of the patterns I have for "shirts that fit me now."

But!

I still had my much altered, good ol' TNT-twenty-five-pounds-ago New Look 6217

and I already knew exactly how much too-small it was, so I knew it was just what I wanted.