An excuse

So I broke my wrist. Unless you have done this yourself, you likely are not completely aware of how very useful your wrists are. I wasn't either. Luckily it's my left wrist and I am right handed. However, that left hand? It's also extremely useful. It is a very good helper to that dominant hand. 

All those things I like to do: sewing, knitting, skiing, curling, swimming? All off the agenda for 6 weeks. My timing? Impeccably bad: the first day of my annual 5 weeks of leave from my office job. During which I planned to do what, you might ask? Answer: sew, knit, ski, curl and swim. 

GAAAAAAH!

I BEGGED to go back to work, believe me. I will take my time off after I heal, thank you very much! (At least I can still think; and my typing while awkward is improving.)

So, I'm three weeks in. My wrist is definitely getting stronger. I thought, perhaps I could sew something. And I did. I made this top. It took me at least three times as long as it would if I had two fully functional wrists, but I did it. 

#111, December 2005

This is a pattern from an ancient Burda World of Fashion magazine (December, 2005, #111) that I've been meaning to make for ... 11.5 years apparently. I finally got around to it. 

As Burda conceived this top, it was made from a woven (front cut on bias) and it had a waist band/tie affair. I made it from a knit (thin, drapey) and lengthened it to be a regular hemmed knit top. 

As is usual, I ignored Burda's actual instructions and improved the garment. I doubled the shoulder/sleeve pieces instead of making them as Burda instructs (fold edges and topstitch). I used some white power mesh for the second layer rather than self fabric since I wanted them to be firm and stable but didn't want any show through. I used a strip of self fabric (cut lengthwise from the selvedge) to create a firm edge at the back neck and under the arms (Burda called for bias strips here). 

And I extended the self facing at the cowl edge to make it deeper/more weighty and to allow for a clean finish at the junction with the front edge of the shoulder/sleeve piece. At left is a view of the front shoulder area (wrong side). 

I need a white evening glove
for my right arm...

The fabric is a miscellaneous knit print which wasn't really a very good choice for a sewer with only one fully functional wrist. Its slipperiness augmented the degree of difficulty. However I am satisfied. I managed to cut the garment with the pattern centred, both front and back. I remembered to think about what bits of the pattern would be hitting what bits of my anatomy. I managed the tricky bits to produce an acceptable (not perfect) outcome. I did it more or less one handed. And I have enough of this fabric left (which I really love) to make another top!

For my next trick, however, I plan to work with a stable woven.