Where: Maybe Dinner Out? I know I had gone to church the night before, so I know it wasn't there (especially in shorts).
Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) The shorts and Greta suede sandals are part of my "go-to" summer wardrobe, so those pieces are super comfortable. I have actually owned the shorts for about seven years now, and they look and feel as good as when I bought them.
The top, obviously, is made for me by me, and without a doubt, it is soft and pleasantly breathable because of the materials I chose, but I did struggle a bit with both the neckline and the armholes. Since I had to change up the front of the top to use the entire remnant of Liberty fabric I had, the neckline's placement was off, so I had to do some major sewing MacGyvering to get the neckline to look right, but in the end, it looks decent and feels great, so score. The armholes were a different battle, and even though I followed the instructions to a tee, they feel off and even a bit high. This is probably because I cut the top so it would fit closer to my body (very loose top in its original shape--my "size" would have swallowed me up). Once I cut for the smaller size, I neglected to cut the armholes for my normal size, which would have probably felt better. Whatever, it wasn't horrible, I am being very picky here.
Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) The silhouette is lovely, rarely do I look this slim in shorts. I need to sew a pair of shorts this shape and length in a few different colors, so I can have a full range of "go-to" shorts for summer.
The "Floral Eve" fabric is from the Spring 2013 Seasonal line, and from what I can see, most stores that sold it have all sold out, with the exception of Purl Soho who has a few yards of both the coral (same as mine) and the blue. Based on this, and the fact that J. Crew keeps selling out of their floral eve items, I would say having created an item from this year's floral makes it a bit cooler, even if I added a bias tape bow neckline and a contrast fabric back (more on why I did that later).
As a reminder, this is another version of this fabric that I am planning on turning into a button up blouse sometime this fall (bottom of post).
Anecdote from the day: I had spent WAY TOO MUCH time making this top. I don't know if it is just me or what, but I suspect it shouldn't take nearly ten hours to sew a simple tank top. I fuss over every detail when sewing, from cutting the pattern paper (or tracing depending on the pattern), to cutting the fabric, to positioning the pins, to ironing the seams. Ugh. So persnickity.
I was so thrilled that it was done that I immediately changed into the outfit. This was the big exciting anecdote from my day (so much so that I can't even really recall what I did that day).
I cut the size 10, even though I measure closer to a 14. This was definitely the right call since the top is still pretty loose even in the smaller size. As mentioned above, the armholes are the only part of the top that feels a bit tight.
I underlined the Liberty fabric so that the beautiful details of the florals would show up nicely, I would have some extra modest coverage underneath (the floral eve fabric is a touch sheer), and also to have a barrier between my skin and the gorgeous fabric. I used a plain old muslin piece to underline, since the off-white color was a perfect match for the ivory of the liberty tana lawn.
Underlining is not necessary in this top (I don't even know if there is a facing in the pattern), but now that I have underlined once, I definitely will be doing it a lot in the future, since it is a) easy, and b) gives the garment a touch of tailoring not found in most ready to wear garments.
I really like the gathering detail at the back, right below the yoke. This was definitely a success on my part, whereas the gathering detail at the front (on the tank straps) was a p.i.t.a. and really was not very successful. Again, not that any of you probably noticed, but I can't stop fussing about it. (Fwiw, my friend who sews says she likes the gathering, both in front and back, so I guess that means it was fine, but grrr.)
I suspect that this may be why it takes me so long to sew everything. LOL. I definitely can't see the forest for the trees.
(I would SUCK at Project Runway, OMG, my model would definitely end up on the runway half-naked.)
Oh, and lest you think I suddenly stopped noticing all the details, I am very bothered by the fact that the decorative blanket stitching on the owl is off in some places.
BTW, this is another McCall's pattern, #6482.
Okay, that's it for now!!!
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