I have made 5 pieces so far - a black corduroy skirt, a brown, animal print, jersey twinset and an orange Ikat 2-piece dress. Here are the first three garments - are you sitting comfortably? If so, here is the fashion show (hey, I watch America's Next Top Model, I know how to pose . . . . )
The black skirt is made out of a fine wale corduroy (from my collection and it is ages old)) is is from Simplicity 4221, a 4-gore skirt I lined it with black bemberg lining (from Fabric.com) and trimmed the hem with black lace.
Check out the round shoulders. My father would be appalled at my posture - sorry Dad!
For the twinset I used Hiatchi sweater jersey from Fabric.com. The cardigan is a Linda McPhee pattern that has just three pattern pieces - the sleeves, the front bands and and 'all in one piece' that makes up the fronts and back. The top is my adjusted Kwik Sew 3752. I am not sure if I like this as a twinset - it seems very busy.
Now this I think, looks much better. I like the patterned top and the plain skirt. I am a little bothered by the gathers in the front of the skirt - too big, or the wrong fabric?
I think the back of the skirt fits great - no gathers. Maybe a tad long though?
Now this is interesting. This is another Kwik Sew 3752 that I made out of black slinky fabric (from Linda McPhee) and I think that the black 'column' with the patterned cardigan looks much better. So, perhaps I will institute a new rule - only one animal print garment per outfit?!
So, what did I learn from this little photo shoot? Well, it appears that my favourite skirts are rather too long. This black one is about 35" long, but I think that I prefer length of my red and grey flirty skirts. I have enough of the black corduroy to make a shorter straight skirt, so I will try that out with these tops and see if it is a better match. And I think a smaller size is in order to get rid of the gathers in the front.
Secondly, I really do need to put a seam in the back of my cardigan's. Other posters are quite correct when they say that the expanse of fabric is not very flattering. I also need to make an adjustment for my upper back - something that I learned from my 'Fit for Real People' sewing class I attended this weekend (more of that in another post later this week).
And finally - when did I go so grey? Like really? I have a couple of years before hitting 50 and I think that from the back I look much older. Sigh . . . . My hairdresser says that it is a lovely color (I think she is just being polite), but all I can see is grey. As I am not going to dye it (can you imagine the time that it would take and as soon as the roots start growing back I would need to dye it again) as that would eat into my sewing time - so I am just going to embrace it. But what style to have? I usually have very short, almost spiky hair but had thought about a Louise Brooks short bob . . .
But I wonder if would just look like a metal helmet on me. Hmmmm. I need to think on this.
I really like the slinky and the print jacket together. Those are my favorites. I hear you about coloring hair. I do now, not sure when I will stop, but I often pair my trip into the city to get my hair done with a stop at the fabric store;)
ReplyDeleteThe two fabrics together look very, very nice. Putting a seam in the back of the jacket, will take away some of the extra ease. I have been grey since I was 40yrs old. I am now 47 and my hair is mostly salt and pepper...more pepper I think :) m.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the black top looks best with the cardigan. I'm 36 and have a ton of gray. I'm pretty sure I'll be all gray by 50, just like my mom. :( I dye my hair, but it is a pain to keep it up as I need it touched up every 6 weeks. It doesn't look so good right now, maybe I'll go to the hairdresser soon...
ReplyDeleteMy red hair was grey, and I did not like it. My skin tone was still much the same, and the grey hair just did not look that good on me and I felt old, even for 68. So...my hairdresser of some 25 years did low-lights for me. We chose two shades of red with a gold base a couple of shades lighter than my natural red had been and kept part of the grey. The color looks natural, is flattering, and lasts quite a while even though red fades quicker than other colors. No roots to bother about. And, my hair has more body with the color, that and I use Wen hair products which are quite wonderful for aging, drying hair.
ReplyDeleteLover the cardigan sets by the way. I have been trying to buy some solid color cardigans and they just look terrible on me. As I too am a fan of Carolyn's cardigans, I am going to have to make some that fit my frame, in nice prints like you and Carolyn do.
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