Home Alone

Having been abandoned by everyone (except the cat) for the weekend, I was imagining a very productive time and had what I thought was a lovely list of projects to keep me occupied. However, by mid-afternoon today I felt more like the Macaulay Culkin character from the 1990 film Home Alone than I really care to admit.

Me, mid-afternoon

Last summer I had fallen in love with some fabric but didn't buy it immediately and, when I did go back to get some, it had sold out. So, when I spotted it back in stock this summer I just had to buy it. I had originally envisioned a simple summer skirt but I ended up making two using other fabric last year, and my recent vintage shopping trip resulted in three more, so I really didn't need another. I stood at the shop counter clutching the roll whilst buying 25cm strips of other fabrics for my blanket project (see blog from 26 July 2014) and was just going to get the same of this but changed my mind at the last minute asking for 1 metre.  Definitely not enough for a skirt but certainly enough for a simple summer top or tote bag.

The much-coveted fabric

To be honest, I'm so enjoying making the applique blankets (and have had a commission for one!), that I was itching to use some of it to make another bird blanket. However, I thought the sensible thing to do was to make the 'main' thing with the fabric and then use the leftovers for the applique birds, since they can be cut out of the smallest of off-cuts. So, today's project was to make a 'simple' summer top using my much-loved car fabric.  I had searched and searched for a pattern and ended up buying a dress pattern that I thought I could just cut off at hip level. This is the one I chose - a bit '60s perhaps? Clearly the vintage thing still has a hold on me!

Since I only had a metre and the fabric isn't that wide, I felt the sleeveless one would be the achievable option, both in terms of simplicity and the material I had.

How wrong I was! Yes, the pattern clearly states that it is 'easy' and I suppose it is.  No complicated techniques; and the fabric is cotton, so no slippery satin or silk and no stretchy jersey. So, simple yes, but oh-so-fiddly and time-consuming!

Also, having (how can I put this) a larger than 'average' cup-size, the fit didn't turn out to be great for the front.  I ended up having to add in two extra darts to take out the volumes of fabric I was left with. Fine if I was about 4 months pregnant, but I'm not!  This involved lots of trying on whilst it was still half pinned together, resulting in much stabbing of myself with half of the pins whilst the other half dropped out onto the floor. And don't even then ask about having to pin yourself into something to get a good fit - even in the Sewing Bee they get the contestants to buddy up to help with fitting and, as I said, the only 'buddy' I had was the cat! She may be able to open the fridge by herself but certainly can't do much else of use (in spite of D trying to train her to fetch him bottles of cider from the fridge once she's got the door open).

To finish it off the simple (see, used that word again) sleeveless armholes needed facing and my facing just didn't want to stretch enough to allow the stated 2.5cm wide turn-under so, after much frustration, I had to trim it to about 1cm.

Anyway, I finally finished it at 6pm and went straight to pour myself a glass of wine.  I'm not sure if in relief or the fact that I felt in need of fortification - perhaps the latter. It certainly wasn't celebration but hopefully the sense of achievement will kick in at some point?! So, here's the finished article.

Front

Back

On a more positive note, I did manage to mend one of my reflective fabric cycle clips, so should be able to cycle to work next week without danger of my trouser hem getting caught in the chain; and I replaced the two hook and bar fastenings on my grey linen trousers (see blog of 20 July 2014) with a huge button that I'm confident won't undo itself every time I sit down!

This evening I get to watch whatever I want on TV whilst blanket stitching my way around my latest blanket, so the future is looking positive. And I do have a lovely new top, although the frustration of the construction it is still making it seem less than lovely right now.  However, tomorrow is another day and, as a complete bonus, it's a bank holiday so perhaps I'll get to do another of my projects. Happy days indeed!