sewing mania

My attempts to refresh my summer wardrobe without buying anything are reaching interesting lengths. I seem to be spending all moments when not working, eating, or snoozing at the sewing machine. If my maniacal dressmaking activities are boring you, look away now (I fear that the thrill of my new clothes is certainly wearing thin on Mr B, who just mutters, ‘yes, very nice’ at each new item and goes back to reading his issue of ‘What’s Brewing?’)

Here is the fruit of yesterday evening’s labours. I had been looking at Mariko Fujinaka’s instructions for a ‘summer top’ in The Crafter’s Companion and decided, with some modifications, to give it a go.
Again, I used another old top as the the template, and cut out front, back, and facings:

(old top, new pieces)

I sewed the facings to the front and back, then seamed it up the sides. Then I added the now-obligatory external pockets (which you have no doubt noticed are something of a theme with me). These ones are an obvious echo of those I knitted a few weeks ago for the kaari sweater

yes, and more buttons too . . .

I then made some running stitches around the neck and along the pocket (to separate off three different sections) with sashiko thread:

I am very pleased with how neatly I managed the seams and facings:

so here’s the finished top:

and me in it

Nice and simple. This was made from the remaining piece of dark indigo-dyed cotton I used for the top in the previous post, and two fat quarters (one with a wave, and one with a crane-fly print). Again, it’s a Japanese dobby-weave fabric. It has a linen-like hand and hang, both of which I really like. I only have a few more fat quarters of this lovely stuff left and am tempted to combine the whole shebang into some joyous all-over garment of Japanese dobby. I may look odd, but who cares? I really enjoyed Felix’s recent post, in which she talks about her forthcoming patchwork skirt as a ‘portable case of ideas.’ Brilliant!