Check, Check!

I thought I'd show you a couple things I've finished up recently.

       Here's the purple dress I posted about last Fall. About a week ago, I went ahead and sliced the bodice from the skirt and added the purple waistband in. It went beautifully after I noticed that the purple fabric does NOT stretch as much as the elastic, and had to be cut to my actual measurement! I don't have a full-length photo, but maybe if I get one later, I'll edit it in here. (still have to find a solution to keep the waistband from riding up in the center without constantly tugging at it... ideas?)




Kati, one of Katie's old roommates, is an adopted sister/daughter to us all!



       This is a shirt I began last fall, and never finished because the fine knit fabric was a little tricky. Switching to a ballpoint needle helped with pulling, snagging, and stretching tremendously. I wish I had used one in the beginning! I had hoped to get an interesting picture of this while in Nashville a couple weeks ago. That didn't happen. There are more important things than blogging to think about while on a retreat, you know! So you get boring mirror pictures.

       The pattern is New Look 6940 and I made it in both navy blue and green. It was a great pattern to use, though I had new challenges from the knit fabric. Those may have been only because of the regular sharp needle I had been using (ballpoints roll off and push the knit threads apart). I followed some directions I found on an online review for an easier way to insert the elastic around the neckline than what the pattern directed, and I used the clear elastic again to stabilize the shoulder seams instead of a tape.

      

 

Even the inside must be pretty if possible!

       My problems came with the stretching of the fabric on the back of the neckline and the sleeve hems. In the end I gathered up the extra fabric in those areas and stitched them to ribbon for stabilization. On the green shirt, I took a deeper seam on the center back instead of gathering. I'd love to try it again using a ballpoint needle the whole way, and with the longer sleeves if they are interchangeable.

Relevant Reasons to be Very Happy:

1) The purple fabric for the dress waistband counts as a piece used up from my stash! woo-hoo! I still have a large section left, but it officially counts as 'scrap' not 'stash'!

2) The green shirt is no longer a UFO (un-finished object) :-D

3) I have blogged about these, and shown you that I do still accomplish things other than school.

4) Recently I have not had any inclination to buy fabric, even if I do still look for nice ones while working. I'm quite happy about that. It makes not buying any so much easier!