Yes, yes, I am plowing through my fabric stash at quite a rate these days. Today, I made a new top, yesterday I made a skirt.
The top is based on New Look 6149, option B. This pattern is well worth any dressmaker’s time. Option B (v-neck, raglan sleeve pullover top) and C (circle skirt) are super-easy and flattering to most figures. I found option A, a wraparound top, to be a bad choice for my figure. I have wide shoulders, and it makes me feel like I look even wider, and I should have measured the pattern, but it was about 1.5″ short in the back waist, so it rides up a bit. Still, two out of three isn’t bad.
Here’s Option A on my dummy. It looks better on her than it does on me, though I still wear it occasionally anyway. The leopard print bobbly trim around the neckline is too fabulous not to flaunt.
Anyway, on to the stuff I just made:
I may take the “stem” off the flower. I thought it needed it for visual balance, but now I think it is annoying and distracting. Anyway, this is the top, made up in a heavyweight cotton knit. I changed the pattern a little bit – I re-contoured the neckline to be about 1.5″ higher, as it was too low cut for my comfort. I also made the waist about an inch longer than originally designed because of my aforementioned long waist and also because this pattern is pretty old and jeans now sit a lot lower than when it first came out. Seriously, I think this pattern dates to like 1998, but they’re still printing it. It’s fairly timeless, so I don’t think it looks particularly outdated.
I’m sure you noticed a little bit of brown corduroy hanging out below the orange top. Well, that’s because I made a skirt yesterday out of that piece of brown wide-wale I have had hanging around for ages. The pattern is now out-of-print, another New Look, #6541. You might gather that I’m a New Look fan, and you’d be right. I’ve had good results with New Look pretty darn consistently. New Look and Vogue are my favorite makes. Butterick are okay, though they went through a phase of frump a while back and I haven’t really looked at anything of theirs real recently. Simplicity are hit-and-miss, and I find that their sizing is pretty unreliable. They tend to run really big, plus, unless there is an actual photograph of the finished garment on the pattern envelope, I don’t trust that the finished garment will look much like the illustration. Their illustrators tend to get a little too optimistic and flattering, and the actual finished garment tends to be much less fitted and shapely than the envelope might suggest. If there is a photograph and it looks reasonable, I’ll give them a shot, because their stuff does tend to be very easy to construct, and their prices are generally pretty low, compared to Vogue & Butterick, to be sure. Really, though lately New Look has been hard to beat, for quality of design, ease of use, and affordability.
I modified the pattern just a little bit in the sense that I left the edges of the flounce raw because I thought it would look pretty cool once it frays out a little bit. I washed it twice already to hasten the frizzing of the raw edges. It’s getting there!
I know they don’t really “go” together, but they don’t really clash that badly either. Anyway, I really like this skirt pattern. I can see it being used again – in fact, I have a suit planned that will feature it. I think next time I will make it a little bit shorter, though. It actually looks better on me than it does on my dummy – she’s got a bigger butt than I do, and so the skirt doesn’t drape quite as well as it is meant to. This skirt is a false wraparound. Actually it opens via a back zip, and the “wrap” area in front is stitched down. This means that this skirt will not forsake me on a windy day. It’s also flared enough to walk or cycle in, yet has that straight-line to just above the knee, which is a very slimming look. Design win!
As I look at my new skirt and the old wrap top, I am thinking that they might co-ordinate well. I always have to wear a camisole beneath the wrap top as I feel it is a bit too low-cut, and it’s not the most flattering top I own, but as an outfit, this might be pretty cute. I’ll have to try it out and see…
Hey! I have something in my fabric stash (funny because I don’t sew at all) that you might want. It is about three yards of silk, in a gold and orange crossweave with a brocade pattern. I thought of you because it’s totally your colors. You wanty? e-mail me.