Thursday, September 22, 2016

Morris and Sabrina...


Or what to do with 5 yards of ponte de roma! I picked it up at a very good price at Fabric Mart earlier this year, thinking I would make a long cardigan for the change of seasons. But I've been on the fence about it. A long cardigan would be an almost zero-use item for me, wearable on maybe a few days in January or February. So it's been sitting in my stash, while I've been sewing down the fabrics around it. (I've been on a bit of a fabric fast for most of the year - my stash was getting out of hand. I will totally break out during the Black Friday - Cyber Monday sales!)

So, I decided to go with a second Boyfriend Cardigan as a compromise. Only one pic, because I just don't love it. I do have other plans for it - hopefully I won't re-cut and sew it down to nothing. 


A note here about my hair: it came up blonde in this and two more pics because I took them with the settings I had been using to photograph the moon. Clearly my camera still has the upper hand. I've become very vain about my gray hair - I love it!

With the cardigan behind me, I decided to make another Grainline Morris Blazer, but with a concession - I sewed it to the original drafting, with none of the little changes I made previously to the bottom edge. And I cut it with long sleeves, a simple change. I thought I might like it better than my two previous versions. It's such a cute jacket, and I've seen so many terrific makes of the pattern - the Grainline Flickr group is a lurkers heaven...


 Actually, this one's pretty nice. The fabric works really well, and the fit is spot on. On Emile, pending sleeves:


To keep the facings - neckline, front edges, and hem - nice and fluid, I used tricot knit lining for all my interfacing. The pattern suggests fusible tricot interfacing, but I did not want to risk 'freezing' the fabric, as fusibles often do. 

I hand-basted the interfacing/facing just outside the seam line and removed the basting once the facings were in place. I enjoy hand-sewing, so basting is right up my alley. I baste all the time!


I'm really happy with the result. By the way, as before, I top-stitched along the edge of the front facing. This seems to prevent the fabric drag, between the shoulder and bottom point, that haunts so many Morris blazers.


Added top-stitching, red lines


I could not believe I still had enough fabric to make one more thing. An easy choice - the Love Notions Sabrina Slims are one of my favorite pants. Absolutely like wearing PJs.



And the ponte is all used up, gone, done!

Ciao! Coco

13 comments:

  1. Congratulations! Nothing like finally finding the perfect project for a well-aged piece of stash. Three cute pieces too! Your Morris looks great, and I love it over the longer top!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. I like the Morris this way too, feels more my style than as a short jacket by itself over pants. I think it would be cute over a dress, but I don't have any solid color dresses - not one!

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  2. Very satisfying to sew down the stash! I like the way you used the blue in the fabric to edge the cardigan.

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    1. I felt a little brave with the band, because I had to cut it with the stretch of the fabric - 80% stretch - and I had visions of a struggle. I didn't want it to behave like ribbing. I interfaced it with tricot knit cut with the grain, no stretch, to control it - worked great!

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  3. Wow, you did great. I love all the pieces...especially the cardi. I am a huge cardi fan.

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  4. Nice work on all pieces! You look great in every outfit.

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  5. Absolutely love all the pieces, especially the cardi, the colours are terrific on you.
    Love your grey hair!

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  6. Oh my, these are just all so lovely. Thank you for sharing them and you've motivated me to get going on my own Morris blazer.

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  7. Wow, super pretty fabric choice and great garments!

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  8. Very cool. I'd like to see you layer them all together just for fun! Or at least two of them with a long solid colored shirt. I think it would look great, but you know, that's me. The print and colors work so well together.

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  9. Great outfit! I love it when you find a pants pattern that just works!!

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  10. Oh, what a wonderful use of that lovely fabric. I really like the short jacket over a long shirt, and think it would look cool with a long dress. You are my style hero.

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  11. Oh Coco, you did a wonderful job with the your fabric! I am not sure why you don't care for the "Boyfriend Cardigan", I LOVE it! All of your pieces are really nice!

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I love it that you came by...and thank you for your comments! Coco