My Sew Red October Project

OK – my Sew Red October project seems a bit lazy (and lame) in comparison to the oh-so-pretty Red Roses Dress that Heather of Handmade by Heather B made or this red polka dot beauty by Roisin of the Dolly Clackett blog. But I wanted to do something super easy after spending many, many hours on my Fall for Cotton blouse, which involved delicate 60-something-year old vintage swiss dot fabric, hand embroidery, and an invisible side zipper (see pix here My Fall for Cotton 1940s Girl Friday Blouse Is Finished!).

I made a fitted tee using the front and back pattern pieces of the Sewing Cake Hummingbird top and drafting a piece to extend the bottom, which you can see in my my post Hashtag Sew Red October. (I made my first Hummingbird peplum top during the Hummingbird Sewalong.)

This my first Sewing Cake pattern hack – and I’m sure I’ll do plenty more. Melanie of The Seeds of 3 has done a quite a few Sewing Cake hacks – see the links in her comment in my Hashtag Sew Red October post.

Thanks to Lady Katza for coming up with the initial hashtag and to Gillian for creating the very cool button below. Love it!

Now I’ll subject you to a bunch of photos (or what my husband calls narcissism). As I mentioned in the earlier post on this top, I was just guessing about the width of the hip area. I did want a snug tee but this seems a tad too fitted. Actually I prefer not wearing it all smoothed out because then it makes my waist look slightly less pudgy than it currently is. Hehheh. (I need to get back to the gym!)

One thing I forgot about this knit fabric is that it’s a heavyweight cotton knit (with 5 percent lycra) and doesn’t have a lot of give in it. Sure it stretches but it’s got a tight weave so you don’t have much ease.  The red Hummingbird peplum top I made was snug. So for a tee, I should have traced another Hummingbird top at the next size up. Oh well, next time. (You can see my three Sewing Cake peplum tops in the post More Sewing Cake Hummingbird Tops!)

Thanks sewcialists for this sewalong idea! It was a good way for me to

Materials

60″ wide heavyweight cotton knit with 5 percent lycra $9.99/yard
[I had two yards and much of it had stains (from a prewash disaster), which I cut around. I think you could make this top with about a yard of fabric.]
Schmetz jersey needle
Matching thread

Accessories: I’m wearing a cheap hat made in China from paper fiber but I like it a lot and wear it often. In my hair is a strip of the knit fabric with the ends knotted together – a great way to use up scraps and make headbands or hair ties! The vintage bracelet was a gift from one of my sisters. Jeans are RTW – trouser cut by Tahari that I’ve had for a few years.

Photos: The top photo was shot when a beam of late afternoon sun was hitting the shed I was standing in front of – thus the sun glasses. But then that bit of sun disappeared so I shot the rest against the back of the apartment building. By then the area was all in the shade, which gives the photos a bluish cast.

Thanks for reading! What have you made or are in the process of making for Sew Red October? Please let me know and include links so I can check out your project. I’d love to see what you’ve made!