Friday, August 20, 2010

Light relief ... again

 Jeans are hard.  Not only was the fitting a challenge, as you know, but the actual sewing is physically demanding.  Denim is thick and tough to sew; there's lots of practical details like belt loops and topstitching, to be sewn through multiple layers, and there are metal zippers and metal rivets, and buttons that need to be hammered in place.  Assembling the main pieces of the jeans is relatively quick; finishing them off takes three times as long.

When the Sewing Lawyer has had it with a tough project it may be time for some knit tops.  Jalie always  seems ready to come to the rescue.

By lucky coincidence there were two dark brown-based knit fabrics in stash begging to be made up, and so another iteration of Jalie 2805 and Jalie 2921 (the scarf-collar top) came quickly into being.

Here's the latest version of 2908. The most interesting thing about this shirt is the print - the fabric is a fine rib-knit cotton/lycra printed with a VERY large and colourful swirly paisley motif (this was a Fabricland offering from earlier this summer).  The motif is larger than the front or back pattern pieces as you can see here (the fabric is lying on my cutting table; those are 1" squares).  I had two complete motifs plus parts - which became the sleeves.

I cut out the back with the print in this orientation (orange swirls at the shoulder) as you can see in the next picture, but the front in the opposite direction after a moment of angst about whether the print had a noticeable direction.
What do you think?  Not obvious?  Phew!













The scarf-collar top is, as any of you who have tried it will know, quite magical.  The instructions for the ingenious construction of the collar/tie are well illustrated in the pattern, but I was also lucky enough to see Jeanne Binet demonstrate how to make this top at PR Weekend Montreal.  I'm sure it works best with a thin knit; luckily that's what was on hand in the stash (a crepey polyester knit acquired at Couture Elle in Montreal, a few years back).  This is another big-scale print, but although one needed to be alert to avoid the dreaded big "bull's eye" on the upper front, cutting it out involved less angst.

I'm wearing the top with a vintage plastic buckle in this picture.  It also looks good threaded through the little hole in the CF (another genius trick in this pattern) or simply tied in a bow.

15 comments:

  1. Fabulous! I have an oversized print that I have wondered what to do with, this is a great idea. You shirts look spectacular

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  2. The paisley top is great, but the tie-dye shirt ROCKS.

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  3. Love the tops - what great additions to the wardrobe!

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  4. Lovely tops, the second one is my favorite.

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  5. OMG those are both beautiful. Want.the.fabric!

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  6. Great tops! alas my scarf collar shirt didn't turn out as well, as I didn't quite have enough fabric to avoid screwing up, nothing to do with the pattern, must try it again soon.

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  7. I love both tops! I need to try that scarf collar pattern --- it looks really stylish!

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  8. I love both of these new tops! A lovely addition to your wardrobe.

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  9. Wow, these are both just gorgeous. Great job!

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  10. Both tops are beautiful, but the paisley, sigh. A perfect marriage of pattern and fabric, I would never have seen that working as a t-shirt. Fantastic job.

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  11. Absolutely LOVE both!

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  12. you look great in them, I particularly like the scarf top...is that your Jalie jeans? ;-) Sue Anfang

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  13. Both tops are GREAT! I just love the printed top, the direction of the print does not matter at all, it's simply beautiful.
    I'm so jealous of your Jalie jeans, I have yet to make a pair. I own the pattern, just haven't been bold enough yet. :)

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