Quit before you get more behind

I've been working on McCalls 6512, a Melissa Watson pattern for blouses.

That's the line drawing.  I've been working on view A, the short sleeve with front pockets and the tabs on the sleeves.  This isn't my usual thing, and I bought the pattern for view B, but the more I stared at the envelope the more I liked it.  It's actually a very interesting pattern, in both views.  It's drafted in a unique way.

Anyways, I had this yellow polka dot rayon shirting, which feels like challis to me, in my stash for like a year.  It was one of those things that I loved so  much I never risked cutting it.  Can you tell yet that it's going to be a sad ending?

It came along just fine.  I worked really hard, especially on those $@%! front pockets.  It was so hard to get them not only even, but also symmetrical with the other one.  The pattern has you place the pockets toward the beginning and then continue sewing the shirt.  In my tissue fitting, this was a fine placement, so I went along with it.

Well, once I sewed the rest of the shirt together, I realized the pockets are WAY too low.  Laughably low.  My fabric is so soft and drapey that it has a lot of give to it, and I think the pockets just stretched out the fabric and dragged it down.

Picking out the pockets isn't an option, you'd see all the holes on this fabric.  At first I thought I could power through.  "Maybe when I add the collar..."  But the more I tried to power through, the more sloppy I got.  I started having the attitude of "What's the point if it isn't even going to work out?"  So I finally just made myself stop.  It's done, it can't be saved, and I just need to move on.

I did like the cut of the shirt though.  I have some pretty rayon challis from which I'm going to make view B (no pockets!).  I do recommend the pattern, just be careful with those pockets and a drapey fabric.

Crappy picture, I know, but I refused to spend any more time on this doomed project!

The Winter Dress

I love winter dresses.  Throw on a knit dress, leggings, and boots and you're good to go.  It's so comfy and you never risk showing anything you don't want to show as you're covered neck to toe.  And while you're completely conservative, it looks cute, sassy, and is entirely work appropriate.

That being said, I've had my eye on this pattern for a while:

This dress requires a double knit, and I've had a hard time finding reasonably priced double knit in an attractive color, or even a print.

But one fateful day, Gary was driving me home from work.  We were on Morena Blvd. and I said, "I heard there's a good discount fabric store around here..." and he's such a good boyfriend that he helped me track it down and was very patient as I looked around.  And lo and behold I found the perfect fabric:

I actually found a patterned double knit!

For textile nerds: In actuality, I think it's more of a novelty knit.  I think it was a double knit, but they dropped some stitches to make the pattern, so it's not a true double knit, but it's stable and worked well for this dress.

Anyway, at $4/yard, this gorgeous piece was cheaper than the yucky, shiny, polyester crappy double knit at Joanns, so I was very satisfied with the price. :)

And my final product:

Hurry up and take the picture Gary! Oh wait, that actually came out pretty good...

Overall, I'm happy with this dress. It's really comfy and I think the simplicity of the design lends itself to fun fabric or other cool details.  But I did have some fit issues.  I have an *ahem* full derriere and the fabric pools at the small on my back.  I read that somebody else on Pattern Review had the same issue, and she ended up inserting a waist seam and back darts.  I'm considering pinching in some back darts, but I like the look and idea of a just simple/easy T-shirt dress.

Anyways, here's the pictures of what I'm talking about:

Any thoughts?   I don't think it's as bad when it's in motion and I purposely didn't adjust it since I wanted an honest photo.  I think I just need to wear it again and ask a friend's opinion in real life!