Sunday, June 4, 2017

Reusing a Favourite Pattern x2

I didn't join #MeMadeMay this year and one of the reasons, as I mentioned in my previous post, was that I knew I'd have guests for two weeks and that I'd be offline and out of the sewing room for most of that time. 

The guests were my Mom and younger sister, and we had a marvellous time together. It was great fun showing them around my town and its surrounding area; we drove all over the place, ate out constantly, and did shopping, shows, and staycationing to the max. (well, at least for me it was a staycation).

But one of the other things I did was make a blouse for my Mom while she was here. The first day she tried on one of my tops -- the True Bias Sutton Blouse -- and loved it. So I offered to make her one, as it fit perfectly and I wouldn't need to make any fitting adjustments, thus thought it would be quite achievable in a week. And it was. 

She picked a nice drapey fabric out of my stash; I believe it was a rayon challis though I'm not 100% sure. It was a gift to me from a friend's mother who was clearing out her own stash, along with about 10 other pieces of varied fabrics. I received it and washed it a couple of days before the visit, and then it went home with my Mom as a finished blouse. Never has a piece of fabric entered and left the stash so quickly - it must be a record! 

The top went together so quickly and easily. The only issue is that I think I slightly stretched the neckline when attaching the bias binding, but probably only me and other sewists would notice at all. The construction notes can be found on the post detailing the first time I made this -- I just made it the same way, though even faster this time as I did not include any piping or trim in the yoke seams. 

Here it is:



The week before they got here I also finished up a couple of summer tops. Here is one I made from an old favourite, KwikSew 3559. I love this dress-into-top; I think it's my fourth rendition. Nothing too new for this one, which I made from a remnant I couldn't resist buying.


I had to be creative with the layout though, to fit all the pieces, which really made the top in the end. It was a 60" wide piece that was just a metre, so I folded it just enough to fit front and back on it, and then cut the yoke lengthwise on the remaining edge.

Since it was most stretchy lengthwise, that worked very well for the design and for the visuals. I love the contrast direction of the stripes in this shimmery green. Otherwise it would have been impossible to match up the stripes and would have driven me mad! 


Do you have a fave pattern that you use and reuse? I love finding a simple standard to fall back on when you want something in a hurry, especially when you have a special fabric that you want to make sure works out!




6 comments:

  1. What a great vacation for your mom, time spent with her daughter and a fabulous made for her top. Looks like she went home smiling!

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    1. I think so - we had a lot of fun together & the weather cooperated so that was good ;)

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  2. Cute tops, sounds like you had a fun time together

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    1. Thanks - yes, super time. First time she's visited me here so there was a lot to show off :)

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  3. What a lovely picture of your mom! I love the top and I love seeing such a wonderful smile

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    1. It was pretty lovely having her here and being able to make something for her as well. So glad I could see her smiling in the gardens :)

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