Yet Another Merino

My BF started running this year (yes, the pandemic does not have only negative effects) and despite myself buying him a few running clothes pieces, he definitely prefers his RTW merino t-shirt. This piece was just in such a regular rotation, that he almost wanted to wear it two times. So even though merino does not smell bad even if you sweat in it, I do not think it is always a great idea.

I just remembered I still had about a meter of merino sports jersey from The Fabric Store and decided one week-end to cut into it. It was originally "reserved" for a cardigan for me, but I am still undecided which kind of cardigan I would like to have, so that is not happening any time soon. I believe a sports t-shirt will have a much more utility now.

This is just a basic, so in terms of sewing, there is not much to say apart from the fact that I copied his RTW t-shirt and sewed it with a flatlock seam. I wanted to add a little something, so used an old scrap of cotton jersey around the neck and a little "etiquette" on the left side for days when he does not now where the front and the back is.

The t-shirt got instantly worn and is in regular rotation since - my BF currently runs 3 times a week, so he is at least covered for two of them with merino. On the other side, the weather is getting warmer, so I believe that he will start wearing regular sports shirts soon.

Liberty Cuteness

I do not think I have ever bought and sewn Liberty fabric, but I am afraid that I will try that again, because this was pure joy. First, I must admit that I was never particularly drawn to Liberty, as a lot of their designs are in fine, pink and blue colours, i.e. not my style. Also, I try not to wear a lot of little flower designs.

However, when I saw this one, all alarms started beeping: ochre, green, red and black, ALL YOUR COLOURS, please buy me!!! and have a look, from faraway it does not even look like flowers. Well, I was weak and ordered it. When the fabric arrived, it was even better in real life than in the pictures and also, the fabric is so fine and soft. Well, it did not stay in my stash for long.

Of course, I had to find the right pattern, but I figured out that when buying Liberty, I should go for the classics, and sew a little cute dress. I was hesitating a little on whether I really want to have an all flower dress, but then, we are in the middle of the pandemics, I will mostly wear this at home or on vacation, so let's go for it.

I used Burda 108-11/2020, with a few modifications: I did not want to have the buttons on the skirt, so I added a side zip and I certainly did not want the sleeve ruffles :) I cannot have both, little flowers AND ruffles, let's be reasonable here. I was also hesitating on putting in some skirt lining, but in the end, I decided against it, fearing it would add too much of the volume.

The fabric was just magic to sew, I seem to always say that when sewing with simple cottons, as it is just sooo easy compared to jerseys, silk or basically anything else. This does not mean I want to only sew cottons, but it is great to make such a nice project from time to time.

The nacre buttons are from my enormous button stash, so a great win for no additional spend.

Verdict: I love the dress. It has just the right amount of cuteness and romanticism, but it still works with dark shoes. I am pretty sure I will wear it in summer with sneakers, but it was way too cold when we took these pictures.

Now, where can I find some more cute Liberty...

Velvet Dress n°2

Aka the grey one.

Hmmm, velvet, good or bad idea? I was a teenager in the 90s, so basically grew up with high-waisted jeans, pinafores and crushed velvet which was a big hit at that time. What comes next? t-shirts under summer dresses and black bras under white t-shirts, urghhh. Ok you got it, I am not a big fan of the current fashion comebacks. Never mind, but a basic velvet, that cannot be such a bad idea, right? At worse I will only wear it at home.

With that in mind, I ordered 2 velvet fabrics just before x-mas, one piece was also used for a little cute baby number. And during my x-mas staycation I sewed two dresses.

The grey fabric is a mix of cotton and viscose as is therefore thinner and drapier. I used a Knipmode pattern (10/23) mixed with my jersey dress block. I do not think there was anything complicated, the dress whizzed through my serger in no time and it was done.

And it was worn almost once a week since. I am sometimes pondering on shortening it by 1-2 cm but at the moment cannot be bothered. It is warm, cosy, comfy, just the perfect stay-at-home-dress. It looks good on zoom and my BF likes it as well.

I am almost wondering why I do not have an entire winter wardrobe made of velvet :)