Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Rok'n Color Block

Just a quick post this morning. I have some time before I have to catch the train to Philadelphia.   Unfortunately, it is a business trip. No time for visiting the Phila fabric district.  I can work on the train. There is internet access, though it fades in and out in some areas. And there is the exciting whole train jerk, when they switch the engines from diesel to electric in Washington, DC.

I have done a small bit of sewing in the past month. One project was influenced by two style details that caught my attention in fashion magazines  and online.

 1. Tops with deep  V shaped inserts of contrast fabrics or colors.


2. The color blocking of  Roksanda.
 



I had a remnant of  the  lightweight wool lycra I used for my culottes project. Just enough for a simple short sleeve top. And a  piece of aqua silk for a contrast V inset.   I wanted a boxy semi fitted top that ended near the waist. Burda magazine has had several patterns for tops like this  (without the V inert)  but when I made muslins of them, they did not give me the look I wanted.  While browsing Etsy for old sewing patterns, I found the perfect pattern.  But I  waffled before buying it, afraid that even with modern fabrics and colors it might look dated. 



Yes, it call for shoulder pads.  One of the things I have learned about my body in my fitting journey, is that my shoulders, though a bit narrow than norm, are very square.  I have to make adjustments for this when using current patterns.  But not on older patterns designed for shoulder pads. I just leave out the shoulder pads and I have a perfect fit.  What makes me cringe is imagining what I must have looked like with shoulder pads on square shoulders back in the late 80's, early 90's. Eeeuuu!

Any way, I am happy with the resulting top. No changes to the pattern except to crop at high hip length. No shoulder pads and no zipper. It easily pulls over my head.