Purple Stripes on the Double

Apologies to my regular readers for not blogging in so long. I seem to go through stretches where I'm just not inspired to post photos of myself online. Here's an attempt to get back into a routine.

Back in February I made two different garments using purple striped fabrics. The first is this knit top:

This fabric is a gorgeous purple and black striped double knit from Marcy Tilton. It has a beefy hand and was a dream to sew. I used Katherine Tilton's V8710 , which I've made a couple of times before. I raised the neckline and added a twisted, loose turtleneck to this one, making it perfect for winter wear.

Some non-plus size sewists have complained about the fullness of this top, but I really like it. There is a lot of extra fabric, however, so if that's not your ideal, I recommend slimming it down.

I enjoyed wearing this in the cold months, and will get a lot of use from it next fall and winter. It's really comfortable and cozy!

The second garment is this shirt, made from a tone-on-tone striped cotton shirting, also from Marcy.

The pattern is a hybrid based on an out of print Sandra Betzina shirt pattern, with details from Diane Ericson's Nuevo Shirt pattern (sorry, I can't get a link to the pattern itself), and her out of print Just Pockets pattern. I love, love the pocket, and the interesting cuffs:

The layers of the pocket are assembled and basted on top of the base piece, then the entire thing is inset into the shirt front (rather than laid on the shirt and topstitched). It's finicky, but I really like the look.

I was hoping to really like the shirt, but I have to say I don't, just because I don't like how woven fabrics drape on my body. There always seems to be too much extra fabric in a shirt, and I feel sloppy wearing one. Maybe it's because I haven't found a good fit in the chest and shoulder area. Or maybe that's just how a shirt fits. I don't know. What do you think?

By the way, those are rounded square tagua nut (a.k.a. corozo) buttons, from Sawyer Brook. They are a perfect color match and I love their angularity on this garment, as the design lines are angular too.

There are several more items in line for me to blog about, including a jacket and two bags, so stay tuned!

And the Winners Are...

My husband drew two names from the pile for me, and the winners of the Plus Sized Pattern Pyramid Give-Away are (drumroll, please):

chiralcraft and megan

Congratulations to the winners. Please send an email with your addresses to me at whistlingdixie "at" comcast.net, so I can send the patterns on their way.

Thanks to all who played along. Be sure to follow Laura at Chiral Craft and Megan at The Green Violet for more chances to win!

Plus Sized Pattern Pyramid Give-Away!

Hurray! The infamous pattern pyramid started by BeaJay made its way to me in Massachusetts last week. Here is what I received from KC:

How about that fabric bag she made for me? It will be great for knitting projects or packing.

Since the collection is thinning down (pun intended), I decided to sweeten the pot with some unloved patterns from my collection:

If you'd like the opportunity to choose a couple of these patterns for yourself, leave a comment. I'll be drawing two winners on April 10th, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won!