UPDATE: Butterick 5612;the tablecloth Tunic It is finished !

front view with buttons

I finally finished this tunic. I affectionately call it my 'Tablecloth Tunic'. The fabric has a lot of body to it because it has a woven texture in it. I think the pattern is too big and if I ever make another one will make it a size smaller. I loosely tied the belt to help gather in some of the volume. I just added plain buttons as I think it looks less homemade that way. I will wear it to events that are very hot outside because this top will breathe.

sleeve tabs with buttons

woven pattern in fabric

I usually make a muslin of something first but why waste the muslin when I can waste some fabric in my stash. I had this cool woven medium weight fabric that I got from my mother. Who knows how old this is. She stopped sewing in 1997 because her eyesight got too bad. I just love the color and the weight and the woven pattern on this fabric.
I thought it would make a very interesting tunic top. My family however has deemed it the "tablecloth top".
I haven't sewn the buttonholes yet nor the buttons on yet. Not sure I like these. Maybe I should just use plain ones, these scream "home-mad top".
I will belt it, I made a fabric one but not sure I like it. When it is completely done I will model it . I am going over to Not Dead Yet Style today. So my question is should I use these buttons or plain ones? Should I use a self fabric belt or some kind of leather belt?

New sewing project in progress UPDATE

Well I made the top and it is huge!!
When they say 'loosely fitted' in the description they mean it.  I could have made the smaller size and it still would have fit fine. 
The other issue is the the fabric I used it looks like a tablecloth. Both my daughter and husband made this comment independently of each other
hmmm..... I still like the look of the neckline and will still wear it. I ended up making the tunic version didn't have enough for a dress. 
    I want a new summer dress. In fact my new mantra for summer in terms of my style is casual chic. I define this as comfortable dress with fun accessories and or summer skirts with cool top. I am trying to get away from shorts and T-shirts for summer.
So I have fabric in my wardrobe stash that I bought to make other things but upon circumspection the original items won't be very flattering on my frame.

This dress is going to made out of a fabric that has a vertical lace pattern woven into it and it is a beautiful creme. I am going to make Butterick 5612. I will make the dress view. I added length to the front above the waistline. This is a very roomy fit so I didn't think I need to add for cup size but I did think the waistline was a bit high on me. Raglan sleeves can camouflage a larger bust area so I hope that works. I shortened the dress by 2 inches. I want it to graze my knees. I probably will shorten the sleeves as my arms are short. I want the 3/4 rolled up look but don't need excess volume here.

And just to make myself go crazy I am simultaneously going to make another dress. McCalls 6520. 

 So I am going to make a casual dress made out of this tribal print gauze material that I had bought a while  back. This version is a more fitted silhouette. I had to add length to the torso above the waistline and I am making view A which is collarless and short sleeved. I don't think I need to worry about a cup size increase because the sleeve area is quite big and I have small arms circumference wise. I had to shorten the skirt as well because I am shorter than the 5'6" woman these are designed to accommodate.

I like to make things in tandem because it is easier to do the same step twice. I have two sewing machines so both can be threaded with the correct color thread. This eliminates having to change threads . The Babylock Surger will have to switch thread colors but mine is easy to thread. So stay tuned for the progress. Do you sew multiple garments at the same time?

Retiree on the GO: spring uniform

I like the look of a uniform. You don't have to think. In my recent wardrobe sort I discovered that I do have a standard uniform. I like to wear printed knit tops, sweaters, and pants either jeans or jeggings.  So here are a few of my print tops with cardigan sweater looks.Do you have a daily uniform?

30/30 jacket challenge UPDATED!!!!

Some ideas in theory just sound better than they actually work out. My original idea was, "So I'm going to try to come up with as many outfits as I can incorporating this jacket. Why not 30/30 challenge. In the next 30 days I will wear the jacket incorporated into the outfit. I think this will be fun to see what I can come up with."
 I just got bored wearing the same jacket day in day out. I also started to feel that the outfits were getting redundant. So maybe I will revise it to be some of my favorite jacket looks incorporating my home sewn jacket.

Another fashion Eureka moment I mentioned on my blog on Feb 24, 2013 is that I need to add more volume to the bottom elements to balance out my top to bottom proportions. So momma went shopping for some new skirts that have volume. Luckily the tones in the new skirt have browns so why not pair it with the brown jacket.I think this will make a good transition outfit for summer to fall,or for that matter even winter into spring.