Thursday, February 12, 2015

Stashbusting: the olive crinkle top

Oops, the camera caught me cheating . . .



. . . trying to arrange the folds of the front pleat to hang just so, and maybe if I hold very, very still, I'll be able to get at least one photo in which this doesn't look like a maternity top.




Oh, okay, maybe not.

This is view B of Vogue 1412, a loose-fitting pullover top with some nice details.







It's all right, really, as this was one of my stashbusting exercises. I take a pattern that I think is unlikely to work well for me (no fault with the pattern usually, just not a good match for my body), and I use a fabric that I would like to see disappear from my stash. The pressure is off, and I most often learn something.

What I see here is that I could use a different fabric (I've been disenchanted with crinkle rayon since the first time I used it but already had this in my stash)—something more drapey, with some slip, that won't get hung up on whatever I'm wearing on the bottom. And, crucially, I could remove all that pleat business in the front and just make a center front seam below the buttoned section.




The back has some nice gathers where it meets the collar band.






















Another thing I learned was how to insert a little placket in the sleeve opening. But if you look closely at the first photo of this post you will see that I somehow got it backwards; the cuff should wrap the other way, but I couldn't make it happen because of how I put the placket in. That's okay: I get the idea and will get it right next time.







A couple of ideas on things to watch:

Seeing the movie Boyhood recently (which I liked a lot, by the way) reminded me of a very different but also longitudinally filmed series of documentary pieces that my husband and I watched obsessively some years ago. It made us laugh, it made us tear up, it made us squirm, and I still think about it surprisingly often. If you have not seen the Seven Up series, which follows the lives of a set of British children of various backgrounds over the years, do yourself a favor and take a look.

Also British and also really interesting: Whoa, have you seen Black Mirror? It’s like a Twilight Zone about where technology might take us, with a new story and different characters every episode. We’re watching it on Netflix. It is superbly done and absolutely addictive. But it’s dark, and when I say dark, I mean it. The first episode in particular could be difficult to stomach: I will just say that it goes where TV in the U.S. would never dare to go.


And an update on my mother-in-law’s cave house, for anyone who saw that note in my last post:

Danielle has had exactly one potential buyer show up to take a look at her home. And that was . . . Kat Von D. Not to namedrop, but I couldn’t resist telling about it. Apparently the tattooist liked it a lot, but she is looking at a number of properties in southern Spain, so we’ll see. We think it would be kind of hilarious if she buys it.

10 comments:

  1. I think your stashbusting philosophy is good. I'm desperately trying to hack away at my stash, too, and my latest impulse has been to chuck all but the best. The blouse is nice, though...maybe just a couple of tacks in the pleat to keep it in check?

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    1. Putting in a couple of tacks is a good idea. As for the stash: it would make sense to cut it down, but on the other hand a fabric diet just sounds too joyless. Sigh, what to do.

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  2. It doesn't look like a maternity top. I love the fabric you choose and the nuetral colour is great too.

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    1. Instead of protesting that it does in fact look maternity, I'll just say thanks for the compliment, Nothy.

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  3. I absolutely love this top on you-it is perfect for your coloring and the work is so nice.

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  4. I am loving this top, the colour is so flattering on you. I'm also stashbusting - by shopping my stash, no more buying for most of the year :) Waiting with baited breath to see what happens with the cave house!

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    1. Thank you, Sue! I am happy with how this color works on me, but really, I never want to sew with this crinkle fabric again. Let's see how long our stashbusting holds out.

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  5. I really like this shirt! the colour and that lovely elegant style too :)

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    1. Thanks, Carolyn! I appreciate your comment. Taming that front pleat might be all it takes to make it something I actually wear out and about.

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