Or weekends....*sigh*
By the lack of posts you should have known that I did not have a spectacular sewing weekend. Actually it was quite a bust. I don't know how I managed it but both garments that I cut out just didn't work at first and needed a lot of work to make them presentable. I have managed to save part of the first one and have given the other one over until next weekend. However, it is just not how I thought the weekend would be! And on top of all of that, I am not sure how relaxing this weekend has been.
I purchased this knit fabric from Fabric.com and was so excited when it came but this stuff is a bear to work with. The stripes are sheer and on the horrible skirt that I made to accompany the jacket one of the stripes at the waistline ripped. So the fabric needs to be handled with care. Also it doesn't press worth a damn and I hate that unpressed, hands at home made look that an unpressed garment has...let's see what else...I was just disappointed with the fabric and had to work extra hard to get a viable garment.
I started with my TNT Burda Cardigan pattern - 8869 which is OOP. I have used this cardigan pattern alot and I was attempting to make a suit like this one ~ the brown cardigan & skirt from the EOS knit. I thought it would make a great outfit for the busy week of meetings that I have next week. That brown suit has worked well for me at these type of meetings in the past and I was looking to repeat that success with this one but it wasn't to be.
I finally settled on altering the style of the cardigan and adding details like black foldover binding and an organza ribbon tie to help this jacket along. The skirt is just a mess right now.
My original plan was to make my TNT 4 gore skirt but I couldn't get the skirt and the jacket to come out of the fabric with the stripes going vertically. This was probably poor planning on my part but I truly thought that I had purchased enough fabric...NOT! So plan B, the 4 gore skirt with horizontal stripes but just the thought of cutting the gores so that the stripes would match made me want to cry. So I just put the fabric away...can we say meltdown. At that point, I started to clean my house and I just gave up!
I can admit when I am defeated but after sleeping on it, I decided that I have a TNT 8 gore skirt pattern that I could probably make work with a minimum amount of heartache. So I arose bright and early this morning to tame this fabric into shape...and this is what I ended up with:
Yeah, I think the fabric got the best of me! *LOL* However, I think I do have a trick for it. I am going to take one of the panels out of the skirt and see if I can save it that way. Can you say I just won't lay down and die....*LOL* But I am not happy with my weekend productivity...and the only consolation is that I have finally made enough garments that I can pull together enough outfits for work...but it just wasn't my plan...
So here is how I will wear the jacket to work tomorrow with the Sewing Workshop mission tank from my SWAP earlier this year and a pair of vanilla tencil pants that I made a year or two ago:
Yes, I know you want to see pictures of me in the garments...tomorrow after work...right now Justin Timberlake's special is playing on HBO and I want to get back to singing and dancing with my daughters! *LOL*
Hopefully next weekend will yield better results...
Congrats on rescuing the jacket and making the skirt work! The back to work outfit looks very together. So you did well! And you have a clean house;)
ReplyDeleteYou know, from what I can tell, I think the jacket turned out really nice. I really like the tie you put with it. Looks like a nice summery ensemble with the other white pieces.
ReplyDeleteI really like the binding and ribbon detail that you added to the jacket. I have to say that I especially like the new print jacket with the vanilla pants and top; for this particular print, I think I even like it better than a matching jacket and skirt. I admire your persistence Carolyn!
ReplyDeleteLinda M.
The cardigan turned out great - what a save!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are a trooper - I'm not sure that I would have gone through the salvage job you did with that skirt. Look at it this way, next weekend is bound to bring better a much better time in the sewing room!
Carolyn, I think the cardigan looks quite 'fresh' and interesting with the details you added. I admire you for keeping at a pattern that isn't working out well! I also thought I would get a lot of sewing done this weekend, but social stuff got the better of me.
ReplyDeleteOhh I'm sorry Carolyn, I know that weekends like that can be very depressing and very often, when that happens to me, I just get so demotivated that I throw anything in the garbage!
ReplyDeleteYou on the other hand managed to rescue the cardigan, it looks very nice. And I also love the vanilla pants.
Sorry to hear about your fabric frustrations, but your cardigan did turn out really good! I can't wait to see the 'action shot' of you in it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you made it work... the results look great.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would make it work. My mantra with my last dress. You pretty much don't give up on garments so I am learning from you and others to work outside of the box I may find myself in.
ReplyDeleteYou may not remember but I bought the same fabric after seeing yours. Now I know this is may be a challoenge for me as well. At least I have been warned.
I think your jacket looks great.
The jacket came out really nice, especially with the binding and organza ribbon. I have some sheer fabric with a lil stretch, I have 2 yds of it for a top and its been laying around together with the pattern... just totally fearful.
ReplyDelete