Summer Sunshine Top

After more than two months away from my blog I'm finally getting around to a new post!  Actually I probably have about three posts I could write right now so I'm in catch-up mode.  Unfortunately I just couldn't find the time (or energy) in the first half of this summer to do much sewing or blogging.  Hopefully now that I'm getting over my first-trimester symptoms I can get back into my normal routine (and yes, that's right, we're expecting!)

Here is a summer top that I finished about 3 weeks back.  I was at Fabricland buying some fuschia binding for a silk top for my aunt (I forgot to take photos!) when I saw this bright summery fabric on sale.  What really drew me to it was the pretty detailing along one edge of the fabric.  I wanted to use some of that detailing for the bodice so I dividing the front bodice panel in half and oriented the edges vertically. I sewed both edges onto a thin panel of the same fabric to join the two. It was a fairly simple way to make use of the pretty detailing.

Unfortunately that was the last simple thing about making this shirt!  It underwent several transformations before I was satisfied with the final design.  My main problem was lack of planning (groan).  The zipper I bought was too short and I thought I could get around it by making a deep v-neck back so that the zipper would be positioned at the narrowest part of the shirt.  Well that created all sorts of issues!  The fabric just wouldn't sit right against my back, and any time I stood up with a nice straight posture, the fabric would fall away from my back leaving a huge undesired gap. 

I also wanted to make cap sleeves for this shirt but knew I was short on fabric.  I stubbornly pushed forward with the plan anyway but after basting on the sleeves and trying the shirt on I knew it just wasn't going to work out.  Sigh.  I had to completely change directions with the design and spent an afternoon with the seam ripper.

I removed the zipper from the back and re-positioned it along one side of the shirt. This placement was now possible since the shirt was no longer going to have sleeves.  To fix the problem with the deep v-neck back I used a sheer white fabric that complemented the yellow floral pattern well and built up the neckline.

Finally I added lining to the shirt to make it feel nice and slippery against the skin.  In the end the shirt turned out pretty well but probably took twice the time it should have.  Planning is everything (why don't I ever learn?).  Anyway it met my goal of a cute summer top and it's one that I can continue to wear over the next few months with plenty of room for my growing belly!

Beaded Grey Top

Okay, it's time to post this top I made several weeks ago but never got around to taking photos of...at least not until last Friday when I posed for this silly photo with my good friend Brigitte.

Mmmm apple pie!

The top was made using the same pattern from my Scottish Piping dress, only I chose to cut off the pattern just below the waist and flared out the panels for a looser fit along the bottom.  I was excited to try out the puff sleeves for the first time (there hadn't been enough wool to add sleeves to that dress).

I hand-stitched small black tube beads and sequins to create floral detailing along the neckline of the top.  I didn't bother taking any close-up shots though...I already posted some good pics of similar beadwork on the Easter Weekend shirt I made my mom last weekend.

Mike did however snap one more photo for me at the end of "Pie" day just before I crawled into my comfy pajamas and cheered for the weekend.

Easter Weekend Birthday Top!

Last weekend I started a new top for my mom based on one that I had just finished for myself (and haven't posted yet).  It was cream coloured with little red swirls on it.  Unfortunately I had a hell of a time trying to get it to the right size!  I was reusing the pattern from my own shirt and planned to just cut the fabric slightly larger for each piece so that the top would be the right size for my mom.  I must have forgotten to widen the side panels because after I sewed it all together I was convinced that the shirt was just too narrow below the bust.  

I came up with a clever design where I opened the side seams and added the same fabric with some elastics sewn in to look like there was ruching under the arms.  I figured this would give the shirt extra room to grow if necessary without looking baggy otherwise.  Well it turned out that when my mom tried it on last week it was definitely too wide (oh boo).  It was almost as if I never needed those extra side panels at all!  So, there I was, ripping out the side panels that I had just sewn in and then restored the shirt to the original size.  My mom tried it on and no wait....now it was just an inch too tight under the bust line! I gave up.  I couldn't look at that top anymore and opted to put it aside, perhaps finish another day for myself.  

I decided instead to start fresh with a new shirt but this time was much more careful cutting out the fabric!  I chose to do a gold coloured top with black binding which I thought would look less casual than the original fabric.  After I was happy with the construction of the shirt I repeated all the steps to create the black lining.  

Next I hand-stitched a black floral pattern onto the front using sequins and beads left over from my latest shirt.  Then I basted together the necklines from the main fabric and the lining in preparation for sewing on the black trim binding to hide the raw edges.

hand-stitching sequins and tube beads to create this detailing 

 I ended the zipper a few inches from the neckline to make it easier for my mom to reach from behind, then added a snap button to secure the corners together.

Invisible zipper with snap button

Here is the final product!  I originally had a black ruffle trim along the very bottom seam but my mom thought that it made the top look "too fancy".  She explained that with the trim she would only be able to wear it out in the evening but without the trim she could wear it more casually, like to the grocery store.  Good grief.  I hope I didn't spend 2.5 hours hand-stitching itty bitty beads so that she could run out for some milk and eggs!  Anyway at least I agreed that the ruffle trim didn't look right after she tried it on so it was an easy fix to remove it and put in the black binding.

Green Ribbons

Here's my latest creation. I saw a neat bit of detailing on someone's shirt recently and was inspired to try something similar.

 I used green binding and zig-zag ribbon to create this abstract design on a simple floral shirt. Instead of hand-stitching the sides of the binding down so that it lay flat against the shirt (as I did with the zig-zag ribbon), I sewed the binding to the bodice along the centreline fold. That allowed the edges of the binding to stand up out of the shirt creating a sort of ruffle. The end result isn't exactly like what I had envisioned when I set out to do this project but it's still kind of interesting.

Transformation Challenge

I made this top recently by re-using material from a dress which never fit me quite right. I was reluctant to sacrifice the pretty dress but since I no longer enjoyed wearing it I figured there wasn't much to lose.  Fortunately I was able to reuse most of the material including the stretchy empire waist. All was not lost. Actually, I thought it was a pretty neat challenge to transform the dress into a new top and I felt a real sense of accomplishment after it was completed.

Oversized Shrug

Check out my oversized grey shrug that I finished recently. I tried making this without any patterns at all, just a go-with-the-flow project.

I figured since it was going to be big and loose that measurements weren't so important and I could probably wing it. At one point when it was too wide for me and the sleeves were still full-length and loose, I was quite discouraged with how much it looked like a judge's robe! Not sexy. But then I made a few adjustments and the shape came out much better; I cut the sleeves shorter, put in cuffs, added three long pleats in the back to bring the shoulders closer together, and rounded off the bottom edge.








I also put in binding along the entire opening edge to help it hang nicely in the front. Finally I added some detailing with ribbon, just like with my cushions and Boxing Day shirt. I was ambitious enough to use the zigzagger to sew in the floral ribbon pattern in the back of the shrug. That was pretty tedious and not necessarily easier than hand-stitching but it was good practice!

Floral Flounces

Flounces, flounces, and more flounces! I made this shirt for my mom just in time for Mother's Day today. The fabric and zipper came from an old skirt that my mom had made years ago and no longer ever wore. She still loves the fabric pattern so she never got rid of the skirt. Now she can finally wear the fabric again but in a totally different form.

My original design included only the five flounces along the front portion of the shirt with just a simple, plain neckline. Unfortunately I didn't do a great job lining up the flounces evenly along the neckline and the lack of symmetry really irritated me. In the end I had to mask the error by adding a ruffle for some more detail. I think it turned out pretty well overall and more importantly, the fit was just right. My mom tried it on just before we headed out to High Park to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom and it was a very good fit.

Boxing Day Shirt

I managed to find some time over the Christmas holidays amidst the food and festivities to return to my Singer for a cute little project. On Boxing Day I happily spent the day in my pyjamas at home coming up with the design for this new top. 

Because I had no plans to leave the condo I rummaged around for random pieces of fabric and notions and rediscovered some green and red binding in my sewing box. I spent a few hours hand-stitching the roses and flower stems on the front and back of this top, then assembled the two halves using the Singer. After trying on the top I decided it looked a bit too boxy for my liking so I added white ribbon all the way around the upper portion to break up the blank space. Next came a few red buttons for detail and red binding to tie up the back. Voila!