It Feels Like Spring

The clocks have sprung forward an hour.  It's light longer and here on the East Coast it's been a relatively mild winter.  I, for one, haven't missed the snow piles or the bitterly cold days. So it's with a happy heart that I'm emerging from the darkness of winter and thinking of Spring.

My company has updated it's work from home policy and we're now required to be in the office 4 days a month. Since I absolutely HATE carting my laptop back and forth, I'm going to be in the office 2 days a week from now until at least October/November...which has made me want to sew some new garments.

I've been looking at the spring/summer offerings online, saving pics of items that caught my eyes.  These two interpretations of the same dress sparked an interest.

Probably because I've made it before and this dress is still hanging in my closet. 

It's from an out of print, Simplicity 2894 pattern. When I made it in 2017, I had planned to make more.  That never happened but I really want to make a few this year because it was an easy to wear, very comfortable dress.  I have several printed linens that would look amazing in this silhouette.  Of course I will maximize it since my ankles don't look as good as they did in 2017. 

I've been thinking about what I want to sew for spring.  Again it won't be a garment a week because I don't have the need even with going back to my office.  However, I'd like to add some different dress silhouettes to work with the dresses I made last year.  I'd also like to add some tops/blouses and toppers to wear over jeans. Realistically it doesn't get dress warm until late May/early June so a couple of those would be nice to add to my wardrobe too. 

Those are my thoughts as we roll further into March with Spring on the horizon...

...as always more later!

Floral Pleather & Black Knit Wexford

I've hoarded this pattern since it was introduced for the Cashmerette Club. While it debuted last summer, I always knew I wanted The Wexford for a winter top. It reminds me of my Pembrokes and this white cotton top that I wear all the time.

Rambling through the fabric collection, I found this floral pleather that I used in a denim dress in 2016 and some black knit I bought from StyleMaker fabrics in 2021. I've used the black knit before in one of my house dresses.  

Seems like this black knit was purchased to be the assist in garments instead of the star player.  

Here are the players for this version...

This is an easy sew complicated only by the pleather fabric I chose for the front.  I like everything about this even though I did lengthen it 2" and may lengthen it 2 more inches for future versions.

I use to have a policy where I wouldn't wear a garment until it had been photographed.  Since I'm no longer always up to pictures, I wore this to work 2 weeks ago.  This was one time I wished I'd taken the pictures first because then I would have realized that my pleather was bad.

The pleather separated from the knit backing at the side seams and it fractured in other places on the front. It was so much that I was shedding white confetti or pieces of pleather EVERYWHERE.  The black knit pants I wore with the top were covered in white sprinkles.  Even my black sneakers looked like a box of confetti had blown up on them.

A Few Pictures of the Damaged Top  ~

This was definitely a fabric fail and not a pattern fail.  This top was very comfortable to wear and I will be making more. Actually have one cut out to sew now. 

This pattern is part of the Cashmerette Club of which I'm a member.  I don't download the pattern every month but the ones I do I really like. I really like this one so plan on seeing several more versions of it.  

...as always more later!