The New TSW Now Shirt Continues, Plus

I went to Joann's Wednesday afternoon on a button hunt. I found nothing on the sizable LaMode and JHB displays--everything was too ornate, too shiny, or too light. In other words, exactly what I didn't want for this project. I was getting ready to leave and head towards Hancock's when I noticed the tiny Slimline rack, where I found a couple of likely candidates--dark gray faux mother of pearl and matte-textured black buttons. Each card of 6 cost a whopping $1.00. And the winner is--the black! The texture and color blend well with the charcoal shirt, so I'll be making buttonholes, attaching buttons and wrapping up this project soon.

Yesterday, I had some errands to run near Anthropologie. I like their quirky vibe, although the prices are higher than I care for. I found a couple of things I liked well enough to try on. I talked myself out of these pants--although they were cute and well-fitting, I don't need linen right now.




I took a couple of cell phone pictures for the details, which may appear on a project later on. I bought this sweater:

It got mostly bad reviews on the Anthropologie website, but it appealed to me. I'll be wearing it with skinny legged pants. The maroon ruffle at the lower edge is actually a separate layer that wraps around from the back. The cardigan layer is only the front and sleeves.

I saw some other items that I liked but just as inspiration. I don't need to be buying a lot of new clothes when I have a closet full and a stash besides.

This year's Threads archive DVD was in the mail when I got home. It's not just the supplement, it's every issue, but it had a special price if you purchased it last year. A couple of things have been fixed. For example, I can now print pages if I want to. I had a fun time looking through it last night--a different experience than leafing through the actual back issues, but satisfying to be able to quickly search and then bookmark favorite articles.

Making a Mood Board

I'm always tearing things out of magazines and catalogs, often images of garments that I like. Usually I keep them in the back of whatever sewing journal I'm currently using. But this morning I was inspired to make a "mood board", using one of the closet doors in the Sewing Cave. It's nice to be able to arrange them--they tell more of a story as a grouping than as a sheaf of papers in the back of a notebook.

Right now, tunics and leggings are interesting to me. So are coats, now that the weather has finally cooled off. And details--the fabric roses on several garments, the origami trim on the t-shirt, the ruching on the gray blazer, and Ralph Lauren's chiffon top layered over a lacy sweater.

It took very little time to do, and the door was one of the few blank areas in the room. I see it evolving and changing over time, and it'll be interesting to see how it will influence what I buy, wear and sew.

TSW Trio Pants in Camo

I finished this project before the chausable I posted about, but this is the first chance I've had to take pictures and post. This time, I re-cut the pattern as a straight Small, and I'm much happier with the fit. The pants include the pockets, using D-rings and grosgrain for the fasteners. The picture below shows this detail:


By the way, I'm still experimenting with self-photography. These were taken near a skylight in my dining room, with the camera on the breakfast bar and the help of my camera's timer function. Lots of cropping, but better this time.

The fabric is cotton embroidered with an all-over rayon floral design. Strange combination, but that's JoAnn's for you. This piece came from their clearance area, which seems to be the best part of all three JoAnn's in the city of Albuquerque.

Details: Chico's Basketweave Cattrall Skirt

I recently got an interesting skirt from Chico's that had some details that I thought I'd share. FYI, the skirt is sold out. So if you want a skirt like this, you'll need to make it! Here it is on a hanger, since the picture and description have already been pulled from Chico's web site.



The band trimming the bottom is latticework! Strips of coordinating fabric were cut on the bias and sewn together in a grid pattern. The very bottom edge is a bias binding of the same fabric. Great idea!



True to RTW, some shortcuts were taken that we sewers probably would not do. The lattice was completed for front and back, sewn on the bottom of each skirt piece, then the side seams were sewn. It doesn't look bad, but it's not the neatest finish.



Most sewers would not have left the back side of each bias strip raw like this. At the very least, a coverstitch could have been used? It looks ok from the front but the back looks more messy than I'd want on one of my creations.



I know it sounds like I'm complaining but I'm really not.

I like the skirt, it's cute on me, and it's a clever concept. And it was on sale! The original price was $108 and I got it for $26.12 with free shipping. Don't get me wrong, I didn't buy it just because of the price. I'd noticed it before and liked it. However, the price was what pushed me over the edge.

This would be a cute touch to replicate on a hem, sleeve, or even on pants legs. Keep in mind that the latticework does stiffen the hem, resulting in a bell-like silhouette. You could put it as a lower band as Chico's did, or make an insert, ending with a lower band of the main fabric. There was an example of this in Threads' recent article on working with sheers.

In addition to my previous comments, here are my suggestions for incorporating this technique into your own outfit:

• Use a lightweight fabric--the Chico's version uses rayon charmeuse for the skirt and poly charmeuse for the latticework, which works well.



• Finish the raw edges of the lattice strips. Yes, they're bias and shouldn't ravel out. But you know better! 'Nuff said.



• Lay out your lattice strips on a layer or two of stabilizer; a water soluble kind like Solvy should work fine. The lattice on the Chico's skirt starts with a layer of vertical strips overlaid with a layer of horizontal strips. The horizontal strips were finished and attached to the vertical strips at the same time. I think it would work better to finish all the strips, lay them out, and tack together the intersections. But whatever. When everything's laid out, layer some more Solvy on top, pin all layers together securely before moving the whole "sandwich" to the machine to sew together. Make a piece long enough to fit all the way around the bottom with one joining seam. I'd work "semi-round". In other words, sew one of the side seams, attach the lattice (still contained with in the stabilizer), then sew the remaining side seam, skirt, lattice and all. Then bind the edge. Then, and only then, remove the stabilizer after everything is safely attached.



• If you have a serger, use it. Lots of raw edges to deal with. If you don't have a serger, bind your seams.



• This technique would probably work better on a straight-ish hem edge vs. a curved one. I know, someone will prove me wrong. Good for you! I'm just saying that's how I'd work it.

By the way, I'm thinking of adding this kind of post as a semi-regular feature on my blog. I'm thinking posts like this, little construction details, etc. I may or may not go into much detail, it just depends on what I'm featuring. What do you think? Good idea? Meh? Let me know...