Readers,
Summer sewing. For various reasons I have never given it its due.
Summer’s not very long in Minnesota, so I don’t wear my summer clothes so much that I get tired of them. Soon enough they get packed away again.
And until recently, in the summer when I wasn’t working I was probably traveling and away from the sewing domain.
And then in colder weather I turn my attention to sewing warm things.
I have managed to sew Jack a lot of summer shirts, though.
Hmm. I guess that’s because the decision is so simple: “Wow, what great shirt fabric for Jack for summer! I think I’ll sew him a shirt!” Boom. Done.
For my wardrobe, though, the decision process can go on indefinitely. Which patterns shall I use? Fabrics? Buttons? What shall I coordinate with? The curse of the divergent thinker: infinite possibilities.
I’ve tried to narrow down the possibilities recently to several simple summer blouse and pants patterns. They’re at the muslin stage.
I’m about to make a wearable test of the blouse from Advance pattern 5455, from 1950. There are no illustrations of the front of the blouse completed, by itself. But the collar appeals to me. It can be made with three-quarters-length sleeves or sleeveless. I can see both in my summer wardrobe.
I brought my muslin to yesterday’s Treadle Yard Goods salon, where Michele worked her fitting and pattern-altering magic on it.
The next step is making a wearable test from stash fabric. I will try this cheerful posy-strewn stretch woven that just shouts summer. I have a lot of it, so I can afford to “waste” some on a test.
I like this fabric but am a little conflicted about it: I want to keep the happy feeling but skirt cuteness and sweetness. Is that possible?
The cuteness factor can certainly be turned up or down by the cut of the garment and the colors of the coordinating pieces. I’ll see how it goes.
I’d better get cracking. Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
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