Simplicity 1621; Sweet Linen Dress and Jacket

Jacket

Here's a cropped jacket, together with the linen dress I recently finished.  Both were sewn, using Simplicity #1621.  The jacket is made from a pale peach, handkerchief linen fabric; the dress fabric is a medium-weight, textured white linen.  The pattern is truly one of the easiest I have ever worked with; all the pieces fit together like a dream.  Difficulty might be found in the construction details, i.e., encasing the seams, self-made bias tape, precise sewing along the edges, hand-stitched hem.  These details were time consuming and tedious, especially because of the nature of the fabric, but well worth the effort.  The finished pieces are feminine and romantic, not exactly my style when all is said and done, but oh so fun to sew!

Sewing detail

Dress

 

Drawing on linen

This started as a prototype for my Sewing Workshop Mix It Tank Top pattern, a plain white linen top, to check for fit and construction.  It fit and construction was easy enough, but was it ever plain!  What to do?  Doodling on fabric with a black permanent ink marker and colored pencils seemed like a creative alternative to sliding that ugly prototype to the back of the closet where it wouldn't see daylight.  The phraseology "you had me at peek-a-boo" was carelessly scrunched and looked more like "you had meat at peek-a-boo."  Meat!??  That simply wouldn't do, and so I added embellishments in between the wording, not so carefully; it's a bit heavy-handed.  We'll leave it at that.  I actually enjoy wearing this charming, tattooed top around the house, and I have plans to develop this kind of embellishment on future projects.

White linen fabric; same but different

Here's a case of same but different; same fabric, different patterns.  I had bought a whole bunch of this white linen fabric, or might it be a rayon/linen blend, I'm not so sure.  It was intended for a dress that required lots and lots of yardage.  That pattern quickly fell by the wayside and my fabric sat and sat, folded in a heap, a cumbersome and very heavy heap of ugly, wrinkly linen stuff; a storage nightmare.  Well, this summer, I put quilting aside as well as heavy-duty gardening, and engaged in a sewing frenzy.  Here are three garments that I recently constructed, from that white linen fabric.  I still have about 1-1/2 or maybe 2 yards left, but at least it's a manageable piece.

New Look 6286 - More sewing frenzy

View A

View B

Two versions of the same top; View A in a wild Laurel Burch print; View B with a shaped hemline, in a very sweet, embroidered white cotton fabric.  The simplicity of the design makes for very cute, comfortable summer wear.

Sewing Workshop Mix-it Top...same but different

Same top (Sewing Workshop Mix It Shirt, Tank andTop), different fabrics.  Quick and easy to sew, a decent fit without much adjustment; this is the kind of pattern I look for.  I chose the tank top version of this pattern.  The ombre polka dot print is 100% cotton; the stripe print is a rayon blend.  I have become adept at applying bias binding to the neck and armholes, thanks to this project.  I also practiced seam finishes, i.e., Hong Kong as well as serged seams.  With these tops completed, I've already moved on to another pattern; part of Christine's summer sewing frenzy.  All these tops?  I call them my house blouses; tops to knock around in and be comfortable in as well.  Can you believe?  It's mid-August and summer's nearly coming to a close.  I'll be thinking about making simple jackets to wear over these tops for fall/winter.  At last, a wearable wardrobe in the making!

 



Butterick 5786; Sleeveless Linen Top

Here's a sleeveless handkerchief linen top in black.  This lightweight fabric keeps me cool during these hot summer months; I'm thankful for that.  After I finished this top, I decided to trim 3 inches off of the back of the shaped hemline.  I am only 5'3" tall and the length in the back seemed a bit much.  But I must say, the top hung better and looked nicer with the original length.  I'll be giving greater thought to shaped hemlines in future projects, probably avoiding them for the most part.

Summer Tank Top; The Sewing Workshop



I'm on a sewing roll this summer and have been focusing on simple styles and breathable fabrics, such as linen, rayon and cotton.  Here's a simple tank top from The Sewing Workshop's Mix It Shirt, Top & Tank collection.  I used a rayon blend fabric for the body of the shirt and a good-quality white cotton broadcloth to make bias strips for the neckline and armhole facings.