2 Jasmines

I am unhappy with my curent wardrobe.  There, it is out there. I have stated it for the universe to hear. I don't feel like me in it.   Somewhere after I had Eden  I started wearing jeans  and t-shirts all the time . I had never been a jeans person before- I have always preferred skirts & dresses. But as a new mommy, jeans were play friendly, easy, and cheap. Now she is 9 and here I site typing away in my wine me up and watch me go t-shirt ( very appropriate T for me, - thanks dad :) )  and  red corderoy jeans. Blah. 

So I have come up with a plan. A wardrobe plan. I am going to make two items of clothing a month  for me. And they won't be jeans and t-shirts!! ( though Sewaholic has a new knit pattern that I might try :) )  I have decided that I want to go back to how I dressed before I  had a daughter and learned how to bake and then eat cupcakes  and cookies  and brownies and all that stuff little girls love to make.  To sum up - the way I dressed before I got happy and  fat :)

 Yea, I work from home so I don't have to  be too dressy but still.. I miss fun clothes.  Sooooooo I am going to make them!  Because  I can! I am going to make a minimun of two garments a month- a top and a bottom  and at least one fancy date dress for the year.

I am actively going to build my wardrobe of items that I actually want. What a concept!

Each morning when I stand in front of the closet and  choose my clothing from the 5 pieces that actually fit , I am goingt to think about what I would like to be in there.  First up, I need shirts. Not t shirts. Shirts that fit.  Cute easy shirts that can go with anything. 

 I  found  this blouse in the  Victorian Trading Company catalog a while back.  It is $59.99 and available only in white.   I cut it out of the catalog and pinned it up on my noteboard in the sewing room as an idea of a shirt to make.  It looks like a swiss dot in this photo but when you use the magnify feature on the site, it is actually an eyelet lace

the shirt and pants up on my pin board.

  The Jasmine blouse pattern from Colette patterns is the closest pattern I have found to recreating it. It has the tie, the cute sleeves and the shape. The pattern does not button up the front but that is ok, I can always add a button placket to  it.

Colette  Jasmine

I trudged through the depths of Joann's and Hancock's to find a fabric and only came up with a swiss dot.  It was on sale half price so  it was $5 a yard. I bought three yards so this shirt was $15. Compared to the $59.99 at VTC .   It made up quite nicely in Version 1- here it is!

Look ! It ties!

I shortened the sleeves quite a bit because I don't think that almost-to-the-elbow-sleeve that the pattern comes with  is flattering on me and I also wanted to re-create the white  top.    I lengthened the fabric tie by about 4 inches and also made it slimmer. I slightly altered the  collar too, angled it in near the front. After I wore it once, I went back in and chopped about an inch off the inside facing- jeeeez it was huge.

Yes, funky  colored photo- I weirded them up a little so you can see the details of the black shirt. 

Detail of the collar

 I love this shirt. It is so comfortable to wear! And flattering, I think.  Making it was wonderful- there are no closures to create!  The pattern was great as I didn't have to alter the main body pieces at all!  The darts were even in the right place! That  never  happens to me so this was like  the paterrn equivelent of winning the lottery! It is cut on the bias which  makes it very comfortable as the fabric  has so much more give on the bias.   I have noticed in wearing it that I need to alter the neckline of the next one I make, as it can tend to bow out a bit, exposing a bit more cleavage than I  intend to. ( A bit of exposure is fine- 'hey I can see you belly button down your shirt' is not fine  :) :) )  And the next version I make will not have the neck  facings, I think they made  the neckline kinda stiff- I might just bias wrap the  edges instead. 

I want to make it out of an eyelet fabric , a thin velvet and a print. For each shirt I can change the neckline a bit, make it round, make it square, omit the tie, omit the collar, change the collar shape, change the sleeves, etc. Not one of these shirts will look alike :)



Jasmine #2


I found an awesome print at Joann's last week.  It is all synthetic- no cotton in sight here! It is going to be a  pain to sew.   It is  soooooooo slippery. I bought an extra half yard in case I flub up the neckline, which I am sure is going to happen.  I always mess up collars in slippery fabrics so I just go ahead and plan for it now! :) :) Plus it is synthetic which means at some point I am going to melt a sleeve or the collar  while  pressing.  I always melt synthetics- I think I have the iron cool enough but I never do...
But look! It isn't solid black!!!  There is black in it but look- there are other colors!!! Yea me! :)

I have already cut it out and the pieces are hanging over a chair down in the sewing room waiting for me to  get drunk enough , I mean, waiting for me to sigh a big sigh of 'here we go' and sew it.  I cut the Sleeves of version 2 this time- so no gathering in the sleeves.

Two weeks later....
 I finished it! :) Ahm..there is gathering in the sleeves- somehow I thought sleeve #2 would be sleeker. It isn't. It stands up there. Next one I make I will get rid of that little pouf at the top of the sleeve. It isn't terrible, it is kinda cute, but I do want them sleeker.
I changed up the entire collar. I did cut one like the black shirt but I made it much narrower.  It was terrible. This fabric is sooo slick, the collar was all kinds of crooked. I tried to rip the stitches out to fix it but it was impossible so I scraped it and started over. I cut looooong  bias strips and sewed them into a mini collar. I also raised the neckline up a bit- after wearing the black shirt a bit, it noticed it gapes open when I lean over my sewing table. Not good.
The fabric was a royal pain. But it feels super nice on. Almost slinky! All of the seams are french seams so it is nice & smooth on the inside.

I feel like Peggy Olson in this shirt. My hubby and I have been watching Mad Men lately and I am smitten with the clothes. Each episode I will  say at least once- ooo I like that dress. I do like Betty's clothes and of course every single thing Joan has on is to die for but I really relate to Peggy's wardrobe.
I love the little bow collars and cute sleeves. Hence what you see here :)

Just so ya'll know- I feel really goofy  doing these photos. 

Eat your heart out Joan Holloway. 

And that's my two jasmine's!