The "Signs of Spring" Butterick 6075

Here's something I made back in February, when Spring seemed as if it would never come!  Yet another 1950s Butterick 6075, that would be number ... five?  Six?   I've lost count.

With this much envelope wear it had to be good, right?

(That case holds a vintage sewing machine ....)

I've had this Amy Butler Lotus fabric (quilting cotton) for ages.   At the time I bought it I thought the print seemed kind of large, but nowadays I'm preferring big prints.  I stil love the color combo, and the stylized lotuses look like pale suns to me.

I took care to line up the print on the skirt (which is cut in four pieces, so there are seams in the front and back).  The pieces are wedge-shaped, and so the edges of each piece dissect the print diagonally, so I ended up with a slightly kaleidoscopic feel.  Here is a lousy picture of the front of the skirt ...

I used a couple of colors of my favorite Imperial cotton/poly batiste for lining: I was running low and had to work with the scraps I had left.  My local fabric store (well, local is a relative term now that I live 30+ miles away from it) stocks this stuff, but inconsistently.  So I hunted around and found an online seller:  "The Stitchin' Post".   Now the batiste coffers are full again and I'm a happy camper.

I did my usual and attached the facings to the lining.   I like that I got the print centered, even on the inside (though look closely and you'll see it isn't prefect).

This will be the last Butterick 6075 for a bit because I've found a new dress pattern love.   More on that next time!

Deer and Doe Arielle

Oh no, the projects are piling up while the tumbleweeds wander across my blog!   But I finally got some photos today, so it's time to catch up.   Without further ado ... back in January (I think it was, anyhow!)  I made up Deer and Doe's Arielle blouse.

I was set on a two-fabic Arielle from the beginning, so I combed through my scrap boxes (yeah, plural) to find some good pieces that worked together.  I did a trial run with leftover rayon challis from this dress in size 6.  Which I found was a bit too big on me.  (For some reason I used my hip measurement to choose size rather than my bust measurement, go figure.)  I used some poly-cotton batiste for the shoulder yoke and collar on that one.  The rayon challis drooped a bit in the front due to the weight of the collar:  it isn't one of the recommended fabrics, perhaps with good reason.  

Arielle enjoys the almost-Spring breezes!

For  v2, I used size 4 and Denyse Schmidt cotton voile fabric. (Left over from not one but two skirts, so I got some good mileage out of that piece!)  The yoke and collar are cotton batiste.  Unfortunately my interfacing was both too heavy and too white for this project, and you can see it through the collar.  

I added a couple of inches to the length, and vents to the sides since I don't see myself tucking this in.     At the time I was making it I thought I'd wear it under a cardigan to work, like I usually do with knit tank tops.  However this has not yet come to pass.  Perhaps because the cold weather demands warmer layers.  Or because that collar looks a little crappy up close and personal.    Or maybe it's just too different from my usual uniform, making it unappealing first thing in the morning when my brain gravitates toward the path of least effort.    I do think I like it though, so I think some day the stars will align and it will make it out of the closet.

Rounding out this post with the back view. 

I should have put this on my dress form for photos ... but then I'd need to find a matching bottom.  (Am I the only one who thinks dress forms wearing only a top look a little ... exposed?  It's worse than having nothing on them at all!)  However, I'm really only seeing this top with pants, which are a no-go for dress form-kind.  Incidentally, my dress form is named Ethel, after my grandmother, for this very reason:  my grandmother does not subscribe to the idea of women in pants.

Anyhow, back to the point ... final verdict?   Cute top, easy to sew, but I need to give it a real wearing come warmer weather to see if it's truly "me".