I have to admit, this MMM gig, did kick my butt into sewing mode. And somehow the whole month has turned into sewing knits month.
Long underwear, sweater refashions, shirts, and then last week turned into The Week of Sewing Cowl-Necked Knit Tops (WoSCKT). Gosh, If I had had any idea that was going to happen I would have organized a sew-along or something.
First, I decided to "fix" a little unevenness on my new black T with the serger. That little beast just chewed it up more, spit out some shirt shavings and bound the mess up. I have to admit my relationship with the serger is very much based on fear at this point. I mean, the thing has knives! Anyway, I am not yet the master and the shirt was a lot worse off.
So I had to refashion my fashion and with the neckline so wonky there was nothing to do but cut the whole neck out, even it up and make a new neck opening. Then I made a loop the length of the neckline minus 10% by about 10" wide, sewed the short ends, torqued the whole thing when I folded it in half, and then put it in. Easy. Much easier than a bound neckline. I will try to get some photos up soon.
Next, I had been staring at this Resonance Cowlneck for awhile and thinking I should be able to figure it out.
I spent much time scribbling odd drawings and zooming in and out on this .
Then the goddess (Tanit-Isis, that is) spoke--and all was clear. Or at least I finally had a clue, and then. . . outright directions. Even so, I decided to go on a spy mission. I drove across town to enemy territory: Anthropologie.
(BTW, what is with that name?) I walked in as if I was actually there to shop and spent about 45 minutes looking for that damn top. (And they didn't have my size, so I am not even sure how it would really look on me.) Meanwhile I picked up a bunch of other things to try on.
Anyway, back in the dressing room I found that the top in question is almost as confusing in the cloth as in the photo. I did grab the striped one which helped me examine the grain line. To make my confusion worse, the sales lady kept interrupting my train of thought by knocking loudly and asking if I needed any help. "Yes," I wanted to yell, "I need help, but I don't think it's something you can help me with." (I just said no.) I had seen some stitching on the front, which I thought might be seams, but were just tacking down of the pleats. As I studied it, it became obvious that it was made pretty much as Tanit-Isis thought.
Then I bought some pants from the sale rack (9.00, how is that possible?) and sped home. Before I could forget anything I pulled out my much-modified Lydia pattern, sliced and spread and slid it apart. Cut it out, and came up with this. (Okay, I admit, I had to cut the front twice to get it right.)
I am amazed by myself (but even more so by the brains behind me this time, Tanit-Isis.) The only thing I did differently is stitch down the folds like the Anthro version, partly because I am so small chested that I was worried it would always pull out of shape. Also, the Anthro version has five pleats connected to five cowl folds and I made four.
I bought this (bamboo blend ?) fabric at Mill Ends, because it was cheap, but I ended up really liking it for this shirt.
I also used up some brown jersey from my stash for a long sleeved version. It is a very stretchy, drapey bamboo lycra blend I bought this a couple years ago at JoAnns. I made this a bit differently at the top of the neckline, but it didn't matter much.
If I look a bit stressed its because I made my teenage son take these photos, and he kept yelling "Look out the window !" at me. He also thought it would really mess with my readers if that lamp was in the first photo and not the second and I disagreed and then forgot to "Look Out the Window." I still don't know why that was so important.
As I mentioned, I saw some other things at Anthropologie and picked tried them on too. Like this cowl necked top, which I liked.
"Newly birthed terry erupts in a smooth motion from an already-cooled body." ???
And a pair of jeans that cost 175.00. I didn't even know that was possible. I am so sheltered that I thought really expensive jeans were like, 75.00. That's what thrifting does to your sense of jean prices--totally warps it. Ha, ha I thought, I will just see just what is with these fancy pants, and I tried them on. Much became clear. Not only did they look great fantastic, they were organic cotton and made in the US of A so as to be guilt-free. (No, I didn't buy them, but now I need to make jeans.)
Later, I tried to knock off that grey cowl, but I ended up with something else, mostly because my fabric was not so soft--probably because it was neither "newly- birthed" or "already cooled"--at least as far as I know. Also, the color is odd. I am calling it a muslin. I find this concept extremely liberating. If it sucks, thats because it was a muslin--I never intended to actually wear it. It was a learning experience.
It's too dark to take a photo now, anyway it's a muslin and you don't need to see it, right? Plus, I can't look out the window.
MMM news: only one major fail, the day when I wore only handmade socks and underwear.
