Spring Sewing

The calendar can't have already moved into May--my last post was in March!

The expo in Puyallup was great fun and time since then has been spent with spring yardwork -- WHERE do these weeds come from?  I get the flower bed all cleaned up and after the next rain there is a whole new crop!  To be fair, many are volunteer morning glory plants that I have decided not to cultivate this year so they are being pulled out.

In April I traveled to the Chicago area for a TCC User Workshop and that was another fun week.  We worked on pants for a variety of body types and a blouse challenge using the software to design different elements of a yoked blouse to add personal touches.

Other than test garment sewing, I've only made one "out of the house" garment -- a Shoulder Princess Surplice top.  I had the fabric in my stash from a Hancock's sale -- the only reason I bought it was the print included faux writing so it would seem more like a RTW than some of the other t-shirt knits that are available.

It's out of my normal spring palette (turquoise/green/yellow/coral/brown) but is perfect with jeans.  And I just happened to have the PERFECT orange to use as trim to make the front "pop."  The problems started when I went to lay out the pattern.  Even though it is a t-shirt knit, it didn't play nicely when folded -- I couldn't get it to lie smoothly on the table.  I even prewashed it twice and used fabric softener in the second wash.  (I know we're advised against fabric softener until after the garment is sewn, but I was trying everything.)

That worried me -- if it wanted fight itself on the cutting table, what would it do in the garment?  But you see,  I had already been seduced by the perfect color match and just HAD to have it to go with my jeans.  I decided I would line just the front panels with something smooth and found some flesh tone lining in the stash.   Yes, I knew I was living dangerously by pairing a woven lining with a knit garment -- but hey, just the front panel, right?

I'm not totatlly satisfied with the result, but all in all, it makes a good casual top.  I have the full length sleeves pushed up in the pic because that is what I do with them anyway!  I didn't know if I would want long sleeves since Chicago in April is not as warm as Cincinnati in April.

I will use this pattern again, without the lining, and with short sleeves for summer.

Oh -- I didn't tell you where I got the orange fabric for trim -- a purchased t-shirt when they were sale at Michael's  2/$5.   I buy the XXL size and cut them down for regular tees, but using with my TCC pattern that has an appropriate  bust dart.  That way I have matching ribbing and fabric, all for $2.50.  Of course the quality of that knit isn't the greatest but it gets the job done.  This ribbing for teh surplice was just strips of fabric cut off the bottom of the shirt.  Since I don't see myself in an all orange shirt, I have lots of trim to harvest for other garments.

So I'm doing my part to sew green ... er, orange .... you know what I mean!   Reuse, recycle, repurpose!