diagonal designs

I have always been afraid of diagonal prints. Have you ever seen a pattern that does not say "unsuitable for diagonal prints" The pattern that I used to make this shirt says that on the back. Butterick 5208.

Our local sewing group does a quartely news letter and one of our members did an article on diagonals. Helen commented that almost all patterns have this disclaimer today. She went on to say that when working with a diagonal fabric choose a pattern that has few seams. I took on the challenge to test her article.

When working with plaids the success of the garment is in the cutting. I used this same approach with the diagonal. I have used this shirt pattern many times and love the fit. I must say that I am pleased with the results. Thanks for looking.

More Skirts............................

I have now finished the skirt project for my daughter. The skirt on the left is a polyester fabric that looks like ultra suede upon first glance. However it is polyester. It frays and clings. It was easy to sew on and I am very please with the out come. To make it more comfortable to wear I lined it to the hem. I found that this resolved the clinging problem.

The skirt on the right is made from silk. It has godets to give it flair. The fabric has a great swing to it. I found this fabric very easy to sew. Working on this silk reminded me how much fun natural fabrics are compared to polyester. They are much more forgiveable and can be molded into shape. This fabric also washes very nicely. I wish I were still skinny and could steal back this skirt from my daughter.

Next is a skirt for me. This is made from a brown and black polyester tweed. The fabric has a very nice hand to it and was easy to work on. I like this style on me so it should be fun to wear. The biggest problem I am going to have is what to wear with it. I do not wear browns well but since it is a dark brown almost black I should find something in my closet.

The jacket on the right I made right before Christmas. It is an unlined jacket from a Louise Cutting pattern. I made this from a two sided wool. After I cut it out I decided that it needed and underling. I didn't like the idea of the seams showing so I hid the seams between the two layers of fabric. The jacket is very comfortable and I am pleased with the over all results.

I am now working on a silk blouse I hope to have time to finish that in the next few days.

Skirts...................

My latest projects have been skirts for my daughter. She is in college but has a job where she prefers to wear skirts. I found some patterns and visited the local fabric store to find some fabric that she might like. Some I bought was a hit and others will be made into something for me.

This fabric was from my stash. It is a cotton lycra. I love the pockets on this skirt.





My daughter picked this fabric out of my stash. It is a black pin stripe with large flowers embroidered on the fabric. I had to modify the patter slightly to make the fabric work but it came out really cute. I have four more skirts to complete. That should get here through the rest of winter and the spring.