I'm Back!

It's been over a month since I last posted.   Between work and getting my outfit finished, something had to give and blogging was it.  I finished my outfit for my nieces wedding,  flew out to California went to the wedding and we are back.  It was a lovely wedding and the bride was gorgeous.  

When I decided to make a 3 piece outfit I figured I'd get more wear out of it than I would a cocktail dress, and I can see breaking it up to wear the pants with a cashmere sweater, the jacket over more casual pieces.  The tank under a sweater.  You get the picture.

This jacket was a pita to make.  I don't know why.  I made a muslin for it and carefully hand basted the silk organza underlining on the seam lines.  The problems started with  setting in the sleeves.  They are a 3 piece raglan.  If you think it's hard to set in a set in sleeve they are a cinch compared to these.  The neckline is supposed to be in line with the lapel edge.  I had a lot of trouble doing that and if you look at the pattern pieces and how they go together, it doesn't line up that way.  Of course in the muslin I didn't add the facings.  Big mistake here.  In the end the object was just to get it done, and I did.  I like it, but the low neckline, even though I took out a lot in the lapel really wants to open up over my bust.  Open, you don't notice it.

I do love the pants.  They are a 4 ply silk crepe lined with silk twill.  They fit beautifully and are comfortable to wear.  The jacket is a washed lame in some blend from Emmaonesock.  The silk jersey for the tank also came from EOS.  The trim was a serendipitous purchase at Mood when Claire Kennedy and I were doing our  whirlwind shopping tour of  the garment district.  We were in the trim section at Mood and I mentioned to Claire that I'd really like to trim the tank and looking down there was the perfect trim.

I'd never used a trim like this before but it wasn't hard to do.  I did need a wider binding than this method calls for; 2" instead of 1 3/8".   It's easiest to hand baste the trim first and I used a zipper foot to attach the binding.  I used my tnt t shirt pattern to make this tank top. I lowered the neckline, and added to the front armhole so as not to be too exposed.  If I remember correctly, I also added a bit to the outer shoulder.  I bound both the neckline and the armholes using Lynn Maynard's method.  It really  makes a flat, neat finish and the interfacing helped support the weight of the trim.

Here's a picture of my gorgeous niece.

Next up is finishing a top I didn't finish before we left and  a summer dress.  Maybe a couple more t shirts to finish out the summer as well.
Stay cool.