It has been ironed. Isn't it awful?
I can't even wear this for you. It just looks that bad on me. I don't know what it is. I think I am just a natural fabric sort of gal. I was so excited about this experiment and had high hopes to use that pretty red fabric from my last post to make a really lovely version. Alas, no such luck. It is just frump city on me. Even my husband took one look and just gave me the side eye, like really?
It all started out with another Peggy Sagers video, this one about tank tops. She did all sorts of cute things with them and of course wore a top that I wanted to make, like yesterday. She showed how to make it. It had these ruffled sort of sleeves made out of triangles that extended down the bodice and into the side seams. They connected at the inner neckline and were stitched down the bodice and very casually ended up in the side seams. It looked great. It seemed easy. "Just serge the edge and stitch it down." I got to work.
This tank was an experiment. I wanted to make my tank sloper work for a knit tank. I took ease out at center front. I took in the side seams and shaped them a lot more. I took in the CB seam and shaped it more. I will say, that was the one thing I was happy about. I think I made the shape work for a knit in the way I like to wear a knit. I don't do body con but I can do "skimming" with a knit garment. Now for those triangles. The "just serge and stitch" was just not good enough for me. That was OK. This was an experiment and on my pretty red rose fabric I would give it a lot more finesse with hidden seam allowances, accurate and measured placement of the triangles and maybe even making them into more of a curved flounce. The next one would be better. I worked away. Done. Far from great work, but Done.
Ugh, double ugh. It just looked awful on me. It was so out of my wheelhouse. I looked dowdy, frumpy and every other awful post meno stereotype you could think of. Hey, maybe that's what I am at this point but do I have to emphasize it with my clothing? I am moving on. I have decided it is time to hit the fabric store and find some nice fabric I like and just do something pretty I don't need, something not from the stash, something that I am not sewing because it is in my studio pile and Covid has my staring at it. Gotta get my mask and hit the road. Movin' on..................Bunny
Yes, ditch that top, along with all the scraps, the pattern, the instructions. Take that, foul top!
ReplyDeleteLove your validation! Thank you! The fabric is weird. I don't know if it is an acetate or a slinky but it just sags. Nasty.
DeleteWell, Bunny, you gave the top a try but if you don't feel good wearing it, just give it away or trash it. We're both at an age (I'm 72) where we don't have to settle for 2nd or 3rd best just to wear a trendy garment. I, too, prefer natural fibers that breathe. Thanks for posting a failure to show that even fantastic sewists sometimes make a dud. Karen
ReplyDeleteI definitely get a dud now and then, Karen. I do plan on donating it. I think it could make someone happy, just not me.
DeleteToday I went shopping, protected and socially distant, and found some gorgeous rayon and a pattern for a top. I can't wait to get started. It's been washed and is hanging to dry. Yay!
Everyone needs a "palate cleanser" every once in awhile, especially during this weird pandemic isolation chamber we're in at the moment. So a bit of inspiration in the form of fabric may be just the ticket to a new horizon. I think that particular silhouette is a tricky one, especially for those of us under 5"5". There's a lot of downward drag in that silhouette and this kind of style has tricked me more than once. I wonder whether part of the solution (assuming there is one for us petites) is the body length, but that would require wearing something peeking out underneath. I think you've hit the nail on the head that the fabric just may just be too sadly limp. I also abide by the general rule that if there's volume up top, I go super slim with the pants/skirt. I'm adding a link to a Clara Sunwoo top with lots of volume, that just works on me. Part of it is the double split hem in front and the fabric, which is a soft, drapey cotton knit with a good balance of body and drape. Note the model is wearing it with narrow little pants. There's volume in the top, but she has ingeniously made the torso look narrow. The back still has lots of wearing ease. No flounces, it's more of a dolman, bat wing affair.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.clarasunwoo.com/collections/tops-tunics/products/tu199
Thanks. That is a cute top. I really like the look from the front. Thanks for the link. I agree with you on the volume philosophy. Love the colors of the outfit in the link. Thanks again.
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