The story so far...

Is that I need to get a move on! 16 days, 7 garments/a bag left. Eek.

Still, I finished one outfit, and am pleased as punch about it.



For my first top, I chose what I thought of as my easiest pattern, McCalls 4923. This should be a simple piece, right? 2 pattern pieces, no worries?

Yeah, right.

The problem is the instructions, which have you cut an outer shell, and an inner shell to use as lining. Seriously, who lines a basic shell? I got to say, these instructions, perfectly idiotic.

Umm. So, I ignored them, made bias strips, and managed to wreck my first version by stretching the armhole entirely out of shape.

Humbled, I crawled back to the McCalls instructions. Instead of fashion fabric, for lining, I used a grey knit underlining, very thin, so there's less bulk. (My fashion fabric is sort of sweater knit. I don't need two layers of this.)


The inside of my top.

Since there was lining, I finished the hem by folding and sewing the fashion fabric to the underlining, by hand (while watching the Empire Strikes Back on TV for only the millionth time) thus making an invisible hem.


A really bad picture of the hem.

Conclusion: Still think the instructions are brain dead. A shell does not need a lining. I will persist in learning how to attach a bias strip to a neckline and armhole without stretching them out of shape.

Next, onto the skirt. Simplicity 3962. This time, it looked easy, and thankfully, it was easy. Great skirt for a beginner (umm, me.) I made a size 12, which is my standard Simplicity bottom size. To petite-size this, I removed 2 inches off the flare portion. (In retrospect, I would have preferred to take an inch off the top portion of the skirt, and an inch of the flare, to maintain the proportions. However, that's a very minor nitpick. I love this skirt.)

My fabric is a crushed silky looking light fabric (its not silk though, some synthetic), grey & white stripes, about $3 a meter at Fabricland? I used maybe a meter and a half.

My favorite parts of this skirt - the inside waistband finishing - finished with twill tape. Easy-peasy! And a very nice looking finish. Also using my rolled-hem foot to make the hem. Honestly! How did I live without this thing? (It sometimes doesn't work over a seam, but since this was very lightweight fabric, it worked perfectly.) No ironing, no fuss, and I was done hemming! Love my foot. (It isn't really a rolled hem foot though, since this isn't a rolled hem, is it? A very narrow hem foot, I'll call it that.)


Twill tape finish


And the easy hem.

As for the rest, here's where I am.

Finished:

Top - McCall 4923
Top - Simplicity 4076
Skirt - Simplicity 3962

In varying stages of construction:

Jacket - BWOF 03-2008-117
Top - BWOF 03-2008-110
Skirt - Simplicity 3631

Worrying me, since they are completely uncut (and in the case of the BWOF skirt, untraced)

Pants - Simplicity 4135 (this is especially worrying since I need to underline these pants, and I've never done that before.)
Top - Butterick 4985
Skirt - BWOF 03-2008-114

Back to work...