Sunday, January 17, 2010

More"What Goes With brown" Pieces

I often visit blogs and feel sad for those of you who don't have very much time to sew. While I was still teaching I use to alternate on Saturdays between cleaning and sewing.That worked well for me and at that time ,I was very organized.

As a retired person ,I chose Wednesday as my Big Sewing Day.I sew other times too, but Wed. is my guilt-free-do-nothing-else-from-early-morning-to-late-at-night sewing day.And I enjoy every minute. My DH goes to town and spends the night at his sister's so I can have this one day all to myself.

This Wednesday, I made this top,



thinking it would look well with this skirt.




But I didn't really like them together.

The top is View A of Simplicity2520



and the fabric is a really nice polyester sweater knit.This fabric did not act like polyester at all and is very comfortable to wear.

The only change I made was to the sleeves. I straightened them and made them 7/8 with a wide hem. I like that look.



The fit is fairly snug. I cut my usual Size 12 for the shoulder area but Size 14 for the side seams and I could have used a bit more room. (but then, I am a little rounder than usual at present,LOL)

The neckline is very high and fairly snug,actually a little too snug but I like the look of the yoke



I used an invisible zipper closure at the back



Now about this skirt!




I think many of us fell in love the first time we saw this Marci Tilton skirt.
What you need to know if you've tried this pattern or are planning on it is that the pieces don't fit together! I was completely shocked when this happened!I thought am I stupid or what? Then I remembered Katherine's green version of this pattern and so I checked it out and of course this wonderful and generous woman had the solution.I won't go into details but the problem lies with the bias pieces having an extra inch on all sides.

The pieces fit effortlessly together after removing the extra inch and I really like the results. I didn't change a thing. I cut out the size 12 and it fit. I did use bias stay tape so the bias seams wouldn't stretch too much and had no trouble at all.I had fun top stitching (I love top stitching).




My fabric is a light suit weight cotton/poly blend and my skirt looks very much like the one on the envelope.Here I am wearing the two pieces together but its not a great look.


Here's a back view with Vogue 8323




More pics here.
Happy Sewing from Diana

13 comments:

Vicki said...

Cute red top. And nice work with the skirt. Beautiful topstitching.

kbenco said...

The pleating detail on the top looks great, and the colour is great with the Marcy Tilton skirt, how annoying that the pairing is not how you imagined,but they will make very useful separates

Jenny said...

Very pretty sweater and color!

Gail said...

My day job is definitely eating into sewing time, but I am trying to do a little each day - even just 15 minutes to progress my projects. I really like the red top.

jacqui m. said...

Great job on the top..I have that same pattern and I was thinking about making the top..Thanks for the heads up on the snug fit I will keep that in mind.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Diana - I think you should make the short skirt from the pattern to go with your top...the silhouettes work better. And I love the red top with the Marcy Tilton skirt - again the silhouettes are just working better. Both pieces are awesome though and you have a dear and thoughtful husband giving you a day to yourself to sew!

Anonymous said...

I loved both! It took me a while to guess if it was pants or a skirt... It is gorgeous. I loved the shirt: the invisible zipper on the back. Thanks for sharing

Kathi said...

You are very fortunate to have an entire day of sewing each week!
I just love the items you made!! That is a really cute skirt.

Ann Made Studio said...

You did a wonderful job on both pieces. What luck that Kathryn posted about the pattern pieces, definitely saved you some frustration!
That's a great idea about taking a whole day to sew, the things that you will get done...yep I;m jealous but happy for you :))))

velosews said...

Thank you for the tips for making up the skirt. It's so lovely to look at and it must be really comfortable to wear as well.

gwensews said...

Those are both really nice looking garments. I love that skirt and have the pattern, yet unmade. Thank you for the reminder that the pattern needs correction. I just sent an email to Vogue, asking for them to send the corrected instructions.

Aminat said...

I love the skirt...what a great detail, the top is beautiful too, they will make great seperates....

Adrienne said...

LOVE that top!