A Lil Mermaid

I don't make a lotta skirts, but when I made this one it was sooo comfortable and easy I had to make it again, and again and again......

I've always loved the silhouette of the mermaid dress or skirt. However, I've never 
had much success in finding any that flattered my invisible lady humps.
 Most mermaid skirts that I've tried on, didn't really fit me, or gave 
me that "BAM", I was hoping for, lol. 

My attempt at copying....and drafting

Although I've been M.I.A for a while, I've still managed to find time to work on a few projects. I've always wanted to duplicate some of my favorite RTW pieces, in different colors, fabrics and better fit. Because of my height, some tops fall too short on me, and of course the inseam of some pants are short too. I decided to conquer a top first.

Here's the top I'm copying, nothing fancy but I really like it.

Now, I've had this top for,.... lets say many sizes ago, lol. It's nothing fancy but I love the smocking/shirring details on it, and I've held onto it for quite some time, with hopes to one day duplicate it.

Since I have some new pattern tools, (yeah) a much needed new cutting table, and a big roll of masking paper (from Lowes), I guess I'm ready!

Here's a pic of my pieces all cut out with fabric pinned. I actually started off by lying the top down on my paper, pinning it to the paper to keep it straight and tracing around. After I traced, I added length and width where I needed, then added in my allowances.

Around the neckline and below the breast is this shirred band so I used elastic thread, hand wounded onto my bobbin to recreate the look. The funny thing is, when I attempted this on my computerized machine, it would not work, it just made, well straight stitches. So I had to pull out my Singer machine to get shirring, lol. With a long stitch and contrasting thread in my needle, it worked perfectly!

I used my serger to roll the edges on the band, before I shirred it. I also used it through-out the construction which made completing it a little faster. Here's a close-up of the top after I finished it.

The outcome was exactly what I wanted, with a much better fit!

Here's both tops

Me Lurv New Notions

I'm always excited when the Mailman or the UPS man leaves a package, especially if it's something sewing related. (or soap, make-up, hair related too,lol) Well guess what? I got some new tools and notions, on yesterday..... yeeeea!

Although it may be a while before I'll actually attempt making or drafting my own patterns, I desperately needed some tools that will assist me with adjusting and altering patterns for a better fit! I found the clear design ruler and the tailor's tacker @ sew-materialistic.com. I've always wanted the tailor's tack since I seen it in a sewing book years ago. From Vogue fabrics, I picked up, my double tracing wheel, graph ruler and another smaller design ruler ( great for armholes and necklines). From Joann's I got these great bias tape maker's.

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I already have something in mind, that I wanted to draft, so I will be putting my new rulers to work very soon.