Sew What?
Sew knits!
I was thrilled to discover that our local fabric warehouse has begun to carry knits. The ladies who work there just shake their heads at my enthusiasm: "What could you possibly want with this fabric?" (They're really fun, sweet ladies who always give Little Boy treats and are eager to help me out with my crazy project ideas, so I'm willing to tolerate their playful jabs.)
At $3.99 a yard for solids and $5.99 a yard for prints, I decided to do some experimentation in making my own clothes. I was going for a kind of "body-drape" look that I thought would be easy to achieve with knit.
Here's a look at 4 things I've made lately with Marshall's knit fabrics.
This one is definitely my favorite! I love this dress. Since it only involved sewing one long seam, it was definitely the easiest to make. I even made one for Girl 1, and she loves it. I feel a little like I'm headed to a toga party when I'm wearing mine. Girl 1 says she feels like she lives in the Bible. Either way, it's a neutral, comfortable dress that can be accessorized lots of different ways. To make this dress, I kind of loosely followed these instructions.
I had some leftover fabric from the above dress, so I decided to turn it into a skirt. Love this skirt! It's very versatile. I don't usually tuck into it, but I thought that would give you a better look at the skirt for the photo. For this one, I VERY loosely followed these directions.
Then, I guess I started to get cocky and decided I'd try something with an actual pattern. When I got that pattern home and started to read over it, I realized that though I've sewn LOTS of things over the years, I had basically no formal sewing training. My mother-in-law gave me a few simple sewing lessons years ago, but other than that, I'm self-taught. Reading that pattern was like reading another language. Needless to say, this tunic/dress did not turn out as planned. After lots of seam ripping, my first go at using bias tape, and a quick YouTube tutorial on how to sew a slipstitch, I did complete the project. The end result is not something I would buy off the rack, but, oh well. It was intended to be a tunic that I can wear with leggings, but it turned out a little longer than anticipated by the time I added the extra length to the waist to allow for my height.
My mom, who probably hasn't worn bare shoulders in public since her 40th birthday, will be glad to hear that I am making some attempt to dress my age lately. My new personal rule has been that I don't show both knees and shoulders at the same time. It works most of the time. So, if I'm wearing short shorts, I try not to pair it with a tank top. Jeans and tank tops. Short skirts and t-shirts. You get the picture. The dress, as pictured above, however, does not meet the criteria. So, I guess I should go put on those leggings. (By the way, my exceptions to my own rule are my running gear: I definitely wear shorts, and I can't stand to have sleeves when I run, so shoulders and knees are all bare when I hit the road. I also make an exception for crazy hot days. If it's above, say, 90 degrees, all bets are off!) Of course, rules are made to be broken, so I don't always follow my own rule. Besides, 33 is not that old, right?
And lastly, this picture really doesn't do this top justice. It's really cute. And it has an adorable little pocket! Oh, and these are the jeans I had on in a Goodwill store one time when a kind, older gentlemen offered to buy me a new pair! Hahaha! And, yes, I do realize that these jeans do not look like the jeans of someone who's trying to "dress her age," but I love them AND, they do follow my rule: my knees may be showing, but my shoulders aren't! ;)