Monday, July 21, 2008

Wild Stripes


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Here's another version of Vogue 2719. The fabric is a cotton stripe, meant for quilting. I fell in love with the colors and the unusual striping. It looks a little like the rainbow of colors you get off a grease puddle. One interesting thing was that no matter how hard I tried, I could not distinguish a right and wrong side. They aren't exactly alike, but one is not paler than the other, and I like both, and honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference, so I was just careful to make sure I ended up with a right and left sleeve and front, etc. While I managed that alright, I made a crazy mistake I've never made before. I laid out the fabric and the pattern and cut it out as if the selvedge were the fold. So, I have a tiny seam at CB. No problem, and this has tiny, tiny selvedges, so I didn't lose much width. I honestly didn't notice until I was ready to mark the darts on the back, and wondered why I had 2 pieces instead of 1. Ah well, I shouldn't cut at night.

This is basically the same as the Wisteria Blouse, except I cut the pattern on the princess lines, and so this is an actual princess seam pattern.

I've been thinking about it all day as I wore this, and I think the reason I'm somewhat uncomfortable with princess lines on myself is that I have kind of a hollow chest above the bust, and so there seems to be sort of a swooping effect to get from one contour to the other, and it's more obvious with a princess line. Also, I think it emphasizes the fact that I'm very short-waisted. So, it's okay, but I still don't think it's my favorite. My actual favorite dart position is a vertical dart with a horizontal dart. You would think that would be close enough to work out the same, but it seems to be easier to get the body-skimming fit I like than the princess line is.

8 comments:

Elaray said...

I L-O-V-E that fabric! I would have bought that without even thinking about it. It's a great match with the pattern making a great summer blouse.

Vicki W said...

That fabric is fantastic and the bluse looks great on you too!

Mardel said...

That is a fabulous blouse and it looks wonderful on you. I like he way the princess seaming accentuates the stripes of the fabric. It does accent the curve but in a very nice way.

Anonymous said...

I have been visiting your wonderful blog for some time now. You have a lovely, sophisticated sense of style and as a novice sewer I am learning so much from your detailed descriptions of fit issues and sewing techniques. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

Anonymous said...

I don't know why you don't like the princess lines. I can't see any "hollow" that you describe and I think the blouse looks fabulous. Sally

Anonymous said...

Well I LOVE princess seams, so you can just send that creation to me.
Actually, I really like this on you, and I don't see your concerns on either blouse. I like the stripe better - I think it's the sleeve length. The floral has a little longer sleeves, so you loose the waist accentuations. Have you tried pinning up the sleeves some and taking a look?
Now if I could only analyse myself, LOL.

Marty's Little Corner said...

Lovely blouse, Liana. One of the ways that I tell right from wrong side is to use painter's tape. I get it in a large roll at Wal-Mart (or any store will do). The painter's tape does not leave any residue and I can write on it. It's also great when trying to see which way the pattern goes and to label fabric pieces so they don't get mixed up. Just a tip to share.

Laila said...

Hello, I'm brasilian and I dont write in english very well, but I'll learn better to read your blog. I have much of your problems with ime and I love al kinds of handcrafts.
I loved your blog too.