I thrifted this cloth at the end of 2015
And for years had wanted to use it to make vintage Simplicity 1692
Which I had previously made, once, before starting this blog. I remembered it as being easy, so I thought it would be a good project after the last shirt I made.
And it was! despite some...decisions.
I decided to go all-in on a Proper button up shirt, using McCall's 6613 (currently available as Butterick 6841)
I proceeded to ignore every single thing written in the directions, so maybe it wasn't as "all-in" as it could have been.
I am working on a sewing project--a new-to-me button down shirt with directions I'm probably going to completely ignore--but, in the meantime, here's another outfit made from relatively recently sewn stuff
(short legs? short skirt. it all works out.)
After making all the simple knit shirts and basic skirts, I felt like sewing some button up shirts again. I thought my first choice of shirt pattern would work with my first choice of fabric, but when I unfolded the fabric, I found several faded areas that severely cut down on the available contiguous yardage.
I did pick out a different fabric for the first choice shirt pattern--along with a stack of other fabric and shirt combinations, and another fabric for the New Look 6843 skirt pattern--and decided to fall back on the modified Burda 7831, this time remembering to add width to the front opening (which I wrote on the pattern) so I could flip the interfaced band to the back to make a less-fussy front opening
This uses parts from Burda, McCall's, Simplicity,and my own modifications. It's a potpourri.
So, last year, I made a skirt using a free Lekala 3 Seam Skirt pattern that I'd gotten when my measurements were larger. I really like the color and fabric, so I decided to partially disassemble it and use New Look 6843 to re-sew it in my current size.
I didn't touch the back darts, center back seam, zipper, and where I sewed the lining to the zipper. Everything else got picked apart, including the vent below the center back seam, and I did leave a few inches of waistband attached at one end.
I know it looks pretty much the same, but I think I took out about 4" at the waist, going by the bit of excess waistband I ended up cutting off.
Have I ruminated on the blog about how the sewing of simple garments from random (or, at least, somewhat random) fabrics is acting as a replacement for finding randomly appealing garments at the thrift store?
Granted, it's a significantly higher-effort replacement for finding random clothes at thrift stores, but it's still serving to provide the randomness that I genuinely enjoy adding to my clothing options. (And the higher effort is a willing trade off for not only less spending--or, often, the using of things long since paid for--but also less interactions with people who don't, shall we say, share my opinions on mask wearing and social distancing.)
To that end, here's the latest float in the parade of homemade randomness
Made as thanks for dolls someone is giving me, using only fabric from recent me-size sewing projects
There's...a lot of those fabrics left...
OK, yeah, I thought I was done with all the "make tights, then figure out what to make from the rest of the fabric" projects.
But.
The fabric left over from the very first pair of tights I made was still around, taunting me. I didn't want to put it back in the stash, but I didn't particularly want to use it for anything I could think if offhand, either.
When I had first picked it up at Walmart, I figured I'd make leggings from it. And, even though the tights were a great success, I still kinda wanted a pair of leggings made from it. Did I have enough of that fabric left to make a pair of mid-calf leggings?
Yes!
But!
Not how I initially expected.
Since this fabric has a decent amount of vertical stretch, this worked out just fine. I'm wearing them today, no problems!
I did use the old no side seam leggings pattern I made from a 1970s leggings pattern (that not only had side seams, but also a zipper, because 1970s stretch knit technology was nowhere near what we have now), and that's why the stripes are doing that at the inseam. It looks fine on, and I mean that with a lot more enthusiasm than my usual declarations of "it's fine."
I made the hems with bands of the same fabric cut in the direction if greater stretch, and the fit is nice'n'smooth. Finishing knits with ribbing/bands is just the best, y'know?
