Project: Simplicity 8018

Simplicity? Um, no. Finished? Finally. This shirt was the bane of my existence for weeks. After having an easy time choosing the fabric and getting the supplies together, I was super excited to get started. I love this faux silk stuff. It has a nice tooth to it and it actually seems pretty sturdy. But wow was it a pain to cut. Plus I was trying to be all nice to the vintage pattern (1977) and preserve the lines for the other size (never again, from now on I will whack away -- I'm not a vintage pattern library). What a challenge this whole thing was!

First, I didn't have enough fabric. I thought maybe I had them cut the wrong amount but after buying fabric to make another of these (I'll get to that later), I am thinking that the width of it must have been less than the normal 44". I'm not sure but after playing Tetris will all the pattern pieces, I know something was up and I've already started blocking that from my memory.

The zipper was easy to put in. I used this tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew. Definitely take care to put those teeth right at your seam. It's very important. I had a couple of problems with the collar and need to make some adjustments for some issues that you can't see in the photos. I'll have to rip part of it out and re-sew. It shouldn't take long. The sleeves in the original do not have the extra gathering detail you see in the photos. The directions expect you to ease the fabric -- even though they list several potential fabrics, few of which actually "ease." I solved the problem by adding the gather. Since I have small shoulders, a little poof on the sleeve is a good thing. I am proud of myself for making that work.

The most challenging part of the construction was the hem. Again with the ease! This fabric does not ease so I ended up cutting more of the interfacing fabric using the same pattern pieces, put right sides together and stitched it up. Then I clipped my curves like a maniac, turned and topstitched as directed. I ended up going in with my pinking shears and cutting the extra way down to about 1/4" because it was hanging funny.

Finally, the pattern for the belt did not make it long enough for my taste. My MIL suggested that I sew in a little snap and do a fake squareknot. I think that's a good idea but I doubt I'll actually get around to it. Overall, I love the this top. I think it fits perfectly, is very slimming, and very comfortable. And guess what? After all that hassle, I'm actually going to work with this pattern again. More on that tomorrow.

Thanks to Mr. Lemon for taking these pictures of me. We walked across the street because I thought the color of our neighbor's wall would look good with the shirt.

Zipper detail here. Pattern here. This project was inspired by the Pattern Challenge at See the Seitz. See the sidebar for a link to the information.

Project: Pattern Challenge

Yesterday on Facebook, Sew, Mama, Sew posted about the new pattern challenge project over at Come and See the Seitz. When I was developing my ideas for Project: Project, honestly, the thought to make stuff for myself never crossed my mind. Faced with the temptation of a new challenge, I decided to jump right in.

So the deal is that participants have to set some goals, put them in writing, and join a flickr! group. Done, done, and done! (And that last part was easy -- you know me and flickr!). Since this is a pattern challenge, I have to use someone else's patterns and challenge myself. Sarah's hopes for the project are that by the end, we'll have a huge archive of pattern reviews that will be useful to other people attempting to make those same designs.

I haven't made a garment for myself since I took Flat Pattern Design in college (1997 to date myself). I am starting to realize that I've never actually made anything for myself from someone else's pattern. I think this challenge is off to a great and challenging start. We're in the middle of some bizarre freezing rain, snow, and ice so I can't exactly drive to the fabric store (45 minutes in either direction). My meagre stash of sewing books will have to do for now. My first two challenges come from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing: the Go-Everywhere Shirt Dress and the Kimono Dress with an Obi Sash. When I have time, I'll find a vintage pattern to sew from and something from the fabric store.

My personal goals are to sew one item for myself each month for at least 4 months. If the Pattern Challenge is still in swing after that, I may just keep going.

For more on Project: Project, read this post.