Sunday, September 18, 2011

Cropped and Chopped


Something new for me!  
I wasn't willing to give up on this one though I'm kind of on the fence about it now.  I royally screwed up when I was cutting out the fabric.  Really.  Actually, I royally screwed it up several times during the making of.  This is a light weight, super soft cotton voile that I ordered online.  It was one of those last minute purchases to fill up the shopping cart for free shipping (curse you, fabric.com!).   I was pleasantly surprised when I received the fabric.  The print is so large scale that the picture online only showed a small portion and I was psyched about the funky print.   I wanted to use a pattern that would showcase the print. 


I planned to make Simplicity 2245, the longer version with pockets.  This is obviously not what I ended up with.  I stared at the print on this fabric for several days, formulating a plan in my head of how to cut it.  It's a bit intimidating to cut a fabric like this.  I was a tiny bit short but I can usually squeeze patterns out with a bit less, so I totally ignored the fact that you need more fabric to deal with large prints.    I figured I had it all sorted and cut everything out.  Totally messed it all up.  I scrambled to use the leftover pieces to save the top.  The back pieces and center front pieces were fine, but the side front pieces weren't.  I tried to angle the print in because I was a little short on fabric and somehow I cut the pieces so the print was going the same direction. Ugh.   


I decided to piece it to try and make it work.  I treated the top piece as if it was a yoke and then I added a piece on the bottom that I was sure would be hidden within the pocket.  It wasn't.   It just didn't look right, especially on.  The voile is too light weight and it was really clingy at the bottom.  So I chopped it all off.

I should have just made the shorter version to begin with.  It would have saved me from the "creative" cutting job I tried to maneuver.  The cropped length was a little too short so I added on the border at the hem.  The polka dot fabric is heavier than the voile and it helps weigh it down a bit.  My favorite part is the pink and white striped button at the back.  The neck ended up being really wide so I closed up the back opening and just put the button and loop on the neck band.

 


Quite the ordeal for a top that should have been super quick.   Lesson learned that large scale prints take more fabric, not less.  That's just the way it is sometimes.  I'm on the fence about it because of all the piecing.  Does it look too patchwork-y, if you know what I mean?  Not that patchwork is always a bad thing.
I really like the pattern.  I do want to make the tunic version but next time I'll use a fabric that's a little more forgiving.  Hope everyone has a great week!




17 comments:

  1. Definitely NOT patchworky. It looks completely intentional and if I hadn't read about the problems you had, I never ever would have guessed. Wear it, love it, and do NOT tell anyone that there was ever a problem or a doubt.

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  2. Ooh, thanks Debbie! I'll never tell-- um, except for this little blurb on the world wide web.... ;)

    I appreciate it!

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  3. I like it, to me it looks like it was meant to be that way. You're probably only worried about it because you just spent so much time with it.

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  4. This turned out so cutely! I would never have guessed your had screwed anything up in the first place. It looks fantastic!

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  5. It looks patchwork-inspired, but in an intentional way, not a wonky oo-crap-can-I-save-it way. It also looks TOTALLY like an art teacher shirt, and I mean that in an awesome way, too.

    Now I'm totally curious what it looked like before it was cut up, though... it looks like three completely different fabrics :)

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  6. You screwed this up? You screwed this up?! I absolutely LOVE it. And thank you for opening my eyes to the fact that this Lisette dress can also be made as a top. I'd kind of forgotten that. I feel a new top coming on... I think this is a lovely make and does the print proud.

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  7. Thanks, Molly and Rebecca!

    Tanitisis- It DOES look like an art teacher shirt! I thought that the other day when I wore it to work. I wish I had taken a photo of the fabric before I used it. The hot pink lines ran from selvage to selvage. The navy blue part was in the middle and the gray wavy lines at each selvage. Super funky.

    Karen- It was your Lisette dress that made me pull out the pattern in the first place!

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  8. I love love this top! It looks patchworky--but in a modern, intentionally awesome way! I think it's part of the charm. The fabric is incredible! Good work!

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  9. Sometimes the work that comes out of a mistake is better then the original plan. I think that's the case here. I love this shirt!!!

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  10. wow I love this! It looks really organic and quite funky. But more of a toned down funky since the fabric goes so well together. Great job!

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  11. Wow, I saw the top and immediately thought "how awesome" and then was surprised to read you considered making it an ordeal.. this is definitely a case of a "mistake" that became a masterful manipulation of the print. I can't even imagine what the print looked like to start with, but you did a fabulous job!

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  12. agree with everyone else. Do not admit that this wasn't your plan all along, because it looks like genius! I really think it could easily hang on an Anthro rack and fit right in. I love it.

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  13. Love this! Huge prints are hard to work with. I am impressed with your vision for this one.

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  14. This is totally cool and very high-end looking. Not patchwork-y at all!

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  15. I'm actually sewing this right now, although it's not as colorful as yours (trying to use the fabrics currently in my stash). It really turned out wonderful, you should be very proud!

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  16. I never would have guessed you messed up on this shirt - I'd be too busy oogling over the awesome print arrangement. That fabric seems perfect for that pattern (I've never seen that pattern before, I'm going to have to go find it. I love the opportunities for color blocking or print mixing). The shirt looks awesome!

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