Don't Sweat(shirt) the Details

A few years ago, I thrifted a few yards of an amazing "old enough to be trendy again" chintz-type printed lightweight interlock knit.

I also, around that time,  thrifted this pattern, McCall's 5070

 which I fairly quickly used to make this

(and I am wearing it as I type this, and I have worn it just about every winter day since I made it)

But from the start, I knew I wanted to use the fabulous chintz-ish interlock to make a sweatshirt, and yesterday I finally did!

And I am also wearing it right  now, along with the jacket.  They coordinate well, which I probably shouldn't admit was a complete surprise.

Stash Wars

So this "need to make new clothes" mode added to a "need to stop acquiring more cloth and actually start using what I have" mode means I'm trying to be more random with what I sew, instead of only using cloth that I have exact ideas for.

To that end, I went back to Simplicity 9153

first used, cut in size large, for the bluebird dress.  This time I wanted to try it in medium, and also use a neckline from another pattern instead of freehand cutting a rounded neckline on this.  Looking through my patterns for a pull-over woven shirt pattern, I found McCall's 6543 (1993)

It's thrifted, and I discovered quickly that the original owner must have made view A or B, and the front and back pattern pieces are completely missing (that's my writing up there, crossing things out.)  But!  The front and back facing pieces were there, cut out in size 16, so I was able to use them to make a neckline and facings.

And the fabric choices, with the idea of "imperfectly made is better than perfectly imagined"?

Experimentaleggings

Several years ago, I took a disco-era pattern for leggings and fused the front and back pieces into a single unit (and omitted the zipper because zipper?? in leggings???) and made a pair of leggings that fit OK, and a few years after that I made another pair from better cloth and I've worn them a whole lot this winter.  Maybe time to make another pair?

But the weight gain had me second-guessing things--sure, they fit fine, but that's probably because of the wonderful four way stretch of the (mystery, probably from the glory days of the $1/yard Walmart cloth bins) fabric.  So I decided I'd try a different pattern, since I've long since parted with that disco-era pattern, and turned to this relatively recently thrifted combo

Simplicity 8042 from 1992, with leggings meant for two-way stretch, since it's from a more primitive time. (That doesn't mean I wouldn't happily have worn view 1 exactly as-is back then, it just means the leggings wouldn't have had as nice a recovery as what we can get in stores today.)  And I  happened to have several yards of a thrifted red velour I could use to make a pair to get an idea of fit.

I hesitate to call it a wearable muslin, because...red velour.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to see anything made from it as anything but some sort of Santa costume. 

ho ho ho.

Bluebird of Friendliness

It is mid-January and actually almost cold outside so that's the perfect time to try out a pattern for a breezy loose caftan-y dress, right?

Simplicity 9153 from 1989 is illustrated like this

and my first inclination was to cringe, because I have always been a Sewing Snob who refused to even consider sewing something as simple *scoff* as an extended sleeve like this.  (I think they're technically a kind of kimono sleeve, but...that's not how real kimono sleeves are made, either, so that only redoubled the Snobbery.)  I had the idea, though, that I could use this to make stuff for friends who were larger pattern sizes than I was, so I went ahead and thrifted it.

Time passed and then I had the whole "accept that the size I am now is not the size I was three years ago and that probably won't ever be the size I am again, so eliminate all the things that don't fit including patterns and let's see what we have to start over with" epiphany and came to consider using this pattern to make something for me. (But without cutting any of original tissue pieces so the option is still absolutely there to use it to make stuff for other people.)  My current bust size is right between 16 and 18, and this pattern offers 14-16 Medium or 18-20 Large on that end of the size range.  I decided to go ahead and cut the bodice in the large, just to get an idea of fit.

I changed a few of aspects of the dress, of course--mostly making the neck line a bit  higher and a lot rounder, and also using a lot less fabric for the skirt, ending up with something shorter and considerably less full.

And you know what?  The only reason I won't flat-out say that it's too big is because there's no such thing as too loose in this kind of dress.  I probably would have been fine cutting the bodice in medium.

Flighty

So, OK:  I don't do New Year's resolutions  So when I realized that my desire to, like, just stop buying hobby materials (read: dolls and cloth) for a year might feel more possible if I broke it down into three-month chunks, and, at that time, it had already been two weeks since I'd bought dolls or cloth, I decided to go with it.   I have a bit over a month left before the first three month period is over.  And, if I do go back to my old...ah...excessive acquisition modalities, well at least there'll have been three months of not buying every quirky/shiny/interesting thing around.

I thought I'd Make So Much Stuff!!! during this time.  I didn't.  But I'm starting to?  A big hindrance was the fact that the weight I gained in 2017 is looking like it's here to stay--I'm (mostly) OK with my current shape

BUT

Everything I ever sewed, and all of the beloved patterns I had...nope.  And I'd look at all my fabulous me-made clothes hanging in my closet and mourn.  All the work, all the happiness I got from the finished items (the items that didn't make me so happy...those were already gone), and I'd never be able to wear them again.  I also felt like donating them was not the best idea, because...mmm, maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think a lot of thrift store shoppers in this area are going to be interested in things like side-zip shirts made from vintage patterns and Halloween prints--and be the appropriate size.

I did consider cutting everything apart and re-using the cloth, likely for patchwork, but, honestly.  "More cloth" is not something I need. (see first paragraph.)  So I put out the word on social media: Huge Lot of Quirky Handmade Clothes, Yours For The Cost Of Shipping!  and the one mutual who has a big following reblogged it and hey I mailed them all off yesterday.

And now I can start the adventure of discovery, going through the thrifted patterns I'd accrued in sizes that used to be too large ("I can use these to sew for friends!"  I thought to myself and then never did--although I still might!) as well as re-examining the size ranges of patterns that I've had forever and...uh...and never used...  There hasn't been a Chain Fabric and Craft Store super duper pattern sale since I admitted my need for new patterns, so I haven't bought anything new and I'm not sure if I will?  Because I still have a whole lotta patterns.

And I have way more cloth.  So I need to get sewin'!  I have started a project, using a few yards that someone gave to me.  As usual, I'm deviating from the pattern-as-given on the fly, and tomorrow I hope to sew it all together to see if it works.  Today, though, I embellished

(and I obviously did not iron)

Will I sew a lot this year?  Dunno.  But at least I won't be held back by the idea that I don't need to, because I had all those cute things I already made...just need to lose about twenty pounds first... Well, I mailed off about 20 pounds of those cute me-made things.  So.  Let's go.