Mixing It Up

~ but certainly not matching! ~

I had a lovely bit of 2-sided stretch denim leftover in my stash and...

voila!

~ I made reversible drop-crotch trousers ~

using Tina Givens Oprah pants pattern,
 .

even though it did mean making all flat-felled seams.

Note the rolled up cuffs?  That's the reverse side showing.

~ worn with a georgette abstract floral print top ~

Made, and later altered, from an out of print V9040 top pattern.


 

~ both sides now ~

and last, but not least, no not at all

~ Trippen shoes for a song from ebay ~

Rushing on over to Patti and the Visibles of Not Dead Yet Style, Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like.  Darn tootin' on both counts.  And Cherie's Shoe & Tell.  Hope to see you there.

Making a Ho-Hum Dress

out of brilliant fabric!

~ nothing happening here ~

Alas, I didn't do it justice with this particular pattern/ style.

Something that showed off the underside, or the inside, would've been great...

~ ah well ~

Here's a closer view of the fabric:

~ back view of dress ~

It has woven stitches and is the same on both the front and back of the fabric.  

How cool is that?  

Of course, I took no advantage of that fact, whatsoever.  

(??!!)  

And it has a wonderful feel to it, not the same as regular 100% cotton, 

almost more like a washed linen.

Anyway, here's some shoes and sox to kick it out of the park, as they say.

~ blue suede shoes from ebay ~

more info for inquiring minds:
 
*Anna Maria Horner Loominous Dotted Line Cobalt Fabric
She has a Loominous collection which is quite beautiful and 3 different colorways in the dotted line venue.

**Tina Givens Violet Dress Pattern
I've made this dress before in striped linen and luv it.  So it's not the pattern, it was just not the best choice of fabric for it. 



When everybody goes live, I'll be at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style, Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like and Cherie's Shoe and Tell.  See you there!

My Dream Pants Come True

I was so excited to see this pattern for pants...finally. 

~ I just luv them to pieces ~

Why did it take so long for anyone to put a pattern out?   

I know, there are some old hammer-like ones out there, but that's not it.  I don't like the big pleated bagging in the middle.  Burda just released a pattern that came really close and I was ready to settle on burda 6358.

~ thank you, ma'am ~

Then, wham, Tina Givens dropped Candace pants and top pattern.   I was in.

~ just pulling up my pants here ~

I used a drawstring, rather than the 1" elastic band for the waist.  I always prefer a drawstring because then I can choose to wear it high-waisted or slung low on my hips.  Plus, it's a bit more decorative.  Here, I used some grosgrain ribbon I had on hand and added a cluster of mustard colored beads to the tie ends. 

~ it's so simple to make ~

Of course, I did make a few modifications.  But nothing major.

~ like in-seam pockets ~

I put pockets in the wings located on either side of the waist.  It seemed like a no-brainer.  Otherwise, it's just flaps in the wind, which is a nice design element - but why not use them too?  The pattern does call for a welt pocket in the body of the pant itself.  I opted for these 2 instead.

~ no cuff pants and ebay shoes ~

At the leg section, after trying them out, I eliminated the cuffs.  I already knew I wasn't going to use the 1" elastic in them (just don't care for the look and there didn't seem any purpose for it).  The cuffs seemed to exaggerate an unbalanced look somehow.  So I decided to finish the leg off with lace used as seam binding.  I like the way it kept it light and simple.

~ about that top ~

I made the top a long while ago from an old tablecloth.  As you might be able to tell, it was folded in half so there was a front and a back.  The middle section was cut half way up to be able to put it on and form a neckline.  Two side seams were sewn half way up from the hem to form sleeves. 

~ and that's the gist of it ~ 

The pattern of the tablecloth is what makes it, I think.  This was a small, square one with a smaller white square in the middle.  Not to mention the great print of a garden and gardeners.

I'll be at Patti and the Visibles at Not Dead Yet Style, Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like, and Cherie's Shoe and Tell when the all go live.  See you there.

   

What to Wear in the Tropics of Chicago

~ but, I'm cool ~

Yeah, it's humid, with scattered thunder storms, another hot and sunny, 90+ day.

~ like limp-humid, where nothing ever dries ~

~ I am not even thinking 'Fall Sewing' yet ~

~ Yep, I do believe that's a long way off ~

Meanwhile, these are the latest 2 items off the press, so to speak.  I wasn't intending to wear them together...but here we are.    Both items are made from fabric scraps.  And both are from Tina Givens patterns.  The pants are from the Oprah tunic and pants pattern and the top is the Myra pattern from the Sychil 03 magazine.


I'm going to go into some detail with pix and stuff of how I did what, so now's the time to leave, or keep on after the break...