Having avidly followed several fantastic sewing blogs (Bloom Sews, Lower your presser foot and The last stitch) from in the anonymous safety of cyberspace, I've decided to stop lurking and join the community. I'm a little reticent about the thought of spending even more time tied to a computer, and I'm aware that many blogs live a sad and lonely existence before dying from neglect...but I guess I'll guess I'll never know if I'm a blogger unless I give it a go.I've recently finished a project using this striking stretch satin. I was drawn to it because it features quite a few of my current 'colours of the moment' - in particular a bright royal blue and lovely greeny teal. I loved the graphic swirls and interesting shapes, but even better it was shiny! It's a good example of how impractical I am when it comes to choosing material. I'm a lady of a certain size, and satin is not known for being kind to less than perfect figures.
I knew this when I bought the material... and I did pause for thought, but pushing the thought to the back of my mind I buying it anyway.
I also paused for further thought when I cut the pattern (New look 6515 - hybrid of version 'A' with 'D' sleeves. I left the ties off so I removed the excess fabric and gave it a little more shape with darts in the back). You see, New look 6515 and I have history. It was the first pattern I attempted when I started back sewing last year after a 15 year hiatus and it didn't go well. I was using a lovely but impractical... yes, it is an ongoing theme in my sewing... light blue oriental brocade that had gorgeous little peacocks all over. It frayed like you wouldn't believe and had way too much body for the pattern. To make a long and sorry story short, I finished it but ripped out the zipper as a war trophy and binned the rest. I was never sure if it was my lack of sewing ability or the pattern. After some thought, I decided to take a punt on it probably being me.
When I sewed the front together I realised that by using satin I'd basically thrown a shiny spotlight on my bust and the effect wasn't going to get any prettier once the material hit my tummy area. By now I was curious to see if I could absolve myself from the previous brocade disaster by way of a shoddy pattern, so I decided to persevere and was glad I did.
Being satin it doesn't photograph well... but hopefully you can get the general idea. I'm quite taken with end result (note to self: a little less self-satisfaction in next photo!).
I'm still not sure if the back darts were necessary, or even a good idea. It's a fine line between giving the top some shape and artfully skimming your worry spots. Probably a moot point in satin, but I'll give it a wear and will possibly remove them if I end up feeling like a shiny sausage.
