Another Funky Shirt for Lisa

She isn't always so serious. And I don't always hold the camera so crookedly!

This is my sister Lisa, wearing a linen, rayon and cotton shirt I funked up back in July. She loves it, and gets lots of compliments when wearing it. I swear I think I could make a dozen of these and sell them on the street!

This was a refashion only in part. The shirt is made using Diane Ericson's Nuevo Shirt pattern, which I've used many times. The fabrics are a black linen and a teal and black rayon challis from Sawyer Brook. The accents are a cotton shirt I cut up. New, from TJ Maxx. Not cheap, but the colors worked great!

The hottest feature on the shirt is the pocket. 

This was as simple as it looks. I cut the sleeve apart and made it into a patch pocket, maintaining the pleats for the length of it. I changed the buttons so they all would match. 

There was enough of the shirt fabric to cut the back yolk on the bias, in two pieces. It's a nice effect with the stripes, and it fits Lisa's rounded upper back well. The lower back has a center pleat. And there's a touch of bias cut challis piping running down the center of the sleeves.

So that's it. A relatively quick make that was fun to sew. And Lisa says it's fun to wear!

For those of you waiting for photos of Lisa wearing the Refashioned Men's Shirt I made back in June, I finally have some!

I'm not sure which of these I like best, as each has details I love. I think there are more of these shirts in the future, probably starting with the pattern rather than with a shirt. The fit is just better that way. 

If you like to play with your sewing, I highly recommend a project like one of these. You can get creative without going way out of your comfort zone, and you'll find you really enjoy doing it!

Turtle Batik Shirt

Catching up on blogging about garments here, this shirt was made in late April. I've been waiting for a modeled photo, which just hasn't happened, for one reason (bad hair day) or another (husband's schedule not meshing with mine). So I'll forge ahead with this post anyway, as the shirt is but a fading memory in my sewing mind.

For this artistic expression, I chose the Nuevo shirt pattern from Revisions (again), a rayon batik from my collection, a solid royal linen from Marcy Tilton, and Diane Ericson's turtle stencil. 

Printing with the stencil was lots of fun. I added it to the back yoke and a re-shaped pocket, after cutting the pieces out but before sewing them. This is my favorite method of printing, as I can easily determine where the printed image will fall on my body when wearing the garment. 

After sewing, I added some hand sewn backstitching in embroidery floss. I like how this added some definition to the pieces. 

Some really great buttons from Sawyer Brook were a perfect match. They're carved and dyed coconut shell disks.

I've decided this is my take on the proverbial Hawaiian shirt. I'd never wear one right off the rack, but I'm a bit more comfortable in this version. It's not something I'd wear everywhere, but it's perfect for a barbeque, picnic, or casual night out at a seafood shack. Here's a shot of my husband and me at a function during our week in Hawaii:

P.S. Eric never drinks sweet drinks, so he must have chosen that green concoction because it matched my shirt!

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I just celebrated my third blogiversary! I haven't been as prolific or regular a blogger as I had initially envisioned, but I love having this place to share my creations. Thanks to all who visit here, especially those who have supported me with your comments!

What I Sewed - And Didn't Sew - Over Memorial Day Weekend

I had four days to sew last weekend, so I gave myself a design challenge. I wanted to make something really unique, using the Nuevo Shirt pattern I've been working with this spring. I wasn't going to use any of the design elements given in the pattern - the collar, pocket, inset, etc. - and I thought I had all the fabrics lined up. This print was to be my key fabric:

It's a remnant of a crinkled blend of shirting, from Sawyer Brook. I love the colors, and it paired well with a solid black linen and a tiny black and white plaid shirting that looks gray from a distance. I had everything planned out, but something about this fabric kept gnawing at me. Then I realized what it was. The words. They're noisy. They're bold. They're anxiety producing. RUSH. URGENT. OVERNIGHT. These are not words a laid-back introvert wants to put on her body. Ever. The piece of fabric went into the red remnant box. (Yes, I keep my remnants sorted by color. It's the only way I can keep track of what I have on hand! And it's just about the only organized thing in my studio, for sure.)

So, I switched gears, and took another look through my boxes of remnants. Mind you, I had purchased black linen from Sawyer Brook and had the main shirt pieces cut out, so I wanted to continue with my plan. This time I chose this printed linen:

It, too, is bold and loud. But in an arty sort of way, one that I could live with easily. This is a huge print - the strings of green triangles are 6 to 8 inches or so long. I found a textured solid in the neon green color, and was on my way to make this awesome creation. I thought the giant print would give me great options for placement and topstitching on the solid black and all, but in the end it just befuddled me. The printed fabric is now laid out where I can look at it often, so I can figure out how to make this fabulous shirt. I'm not going to force it, because I know the key to making it work will come in time. Tomorrow I'm going to pin the fabric up on my design board so it's even more in my face. There's no giving in on this one!

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So, you ask, what did I make over the long weekend? Not something unusual at all, but a very sedate, follow-the-pattern, solid color tunic.

This is Katherine Tilton's Butterick 5925, made from a bamboo jersey from Marcy Tilton (gotta keep it in the family, ya know). I like the details on this top, specifically the cool lower side pockets and the twisted neckband.

The band on the pocket uses the same technique as the neckband for making it look as though the fabric is twisted. In reality, the long edges are simply offset by a couple of inches. In other words, when folding the neckband and matching the markings, the markings are about two inches from where they normally are. It's simple to do and the look is quite chic.

I shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length. After wearing the tunic today, I wish I had made them an inch or two longer. The only other change I made was to cut the armscyes and sleeve heads a size smaller than the rest of the pattern. I'm really pleased with the fit, and it's a really comfortable top to wear. 

I'm not giving up on that arty Nuevo shirt, so keep watch here because it will be showing up eventually!

An Unlikely Favorite

One of the best things about working at Sawyer Brook is easy access to small fabric remnants. The floral print I used in this shirt was just such a remnant. Small enough that I used nearly all of it. I combined it with a white linen and a cotton stripe. The print and stripe had caught my eye while both were still on rolls, but I didn't buy them then as I thought I'd never wear a garment using the two of them. Too busy. The addition of the white convinced me to go ahead with what is now one of my favorite shirts.

The pattern I used is ReVisions' Nuevo Shirt, one of my favorites from Diane Ericson. I love the design ideas Diane included in the pattern, as well as the cool pocket inset, the two piece sleeves and the bias-cut asymmetrical collar that lays beautifully.

The pattern has long sleeves with a really cool cuff treatment. I chose to cut them short for summer wear, and inserted bias strips into the seam.

I modified the top edge of the pocket and added free motion topstitching. I really love this pocket treatment, as it's such a good opportunity for combining fabrics. It becomes the focal point of the shirt.

If you enlarge the photo above, you'll see the triangular buttons from Sawyer Brook. I've wanted to use these buttons since they first arrived at the store, and they are a perfect match to the greens in the fabrics.

I recently made another Nuevo shirt, and have yet a third in the works. Keep watch for them here!

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!