I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! Santa was quite good to us and he did his best to please, showering me with lovely treats; jewels, gold…You can imagine his surprise when I revealed which gift was my favorite.
My June Tailor thread rack!!! I could hardly wait to take my new friend to my sewing room.
The holiday schedule leaves little time for sewing, but I managed to sneak in a short session. The results? This velvet and satin top.
I’ve always been a big fan of velvet and my stash reflects this fact (as do my recent sewing projects). I had this piece of stretch velvet in my stash and loved the color (Marsala!) so much, I could hardly bear to cut into it. It took a pattern as special as McCalls 7194 to inspire me.
It’s a fun pattern with hemline and neckline variations. I used the hemline variation of view C, but the neckline of view D. View C had a cowl collar, which I really like, but it seemed too casual for the velvet.
The pattern was easy to put together. The lower band looks challenging, but it’s just a band of fabric with a slit in it…nothing to tough about that. My velvet is stretchy so I used the overlock stitch on my Bernina when stitching the seams, but a zigzag stitch would do. I used a stretch satin jersey for the sleeves and the lower band, in a contrasting silvery gray.
I paired the top with a pencil skirt I made some time ago, Simplicity 1283, a Mimi G design.
The skirt fabric is a stretch jersey in a shimmery gray that has a leathery sheen to it. Not much to say about it except that it’s an easy pattern for knits – – and it’s designed to make your curves look even better. Can’t help but love that!
I love this top pattern and will have to make it again. It will be one of my favorites, I think, because the style is a bit unusual, but comfortable too. The asymmetrical hem makes it feel sophisticated, yet I think I could easily wear it with jeans.
My next project? To review my hits and misses for 2015 as I think about my sewing goals for 2016 (probably long after the bubbly is popped and we ring in the New Year).
Are you managing to find time to sew in the midst of the holiday frenzy? What kinds of projects are you taking on? Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by.
