The Eternal Magpie

easily distracted by shiny things…

Simplicity 2927

Jul 29th, 2008 by Claire

This morning I had a very productive time drafting a pattern for a pair of leggings. By lunchtime I’d transformed a piece of lovely cotton jersey that I bought from The Cloth House several years ago, and in the afternoon I started on a simple tunic to go with them.

Say hello to Simplicity 2927:

It’s not finished yet, mostly because I was taken by surprise at how complicated this little dress turned out to be!

It’s one of Simplicity’s Project Runway patterns. As it happens I’ve never actually watched the TV show, but I’d sort of assumed that the point of the patterns was to encourage young wannabe designers into sewing their own clothes.

We’d already discovered at work that the patterns are quite difficult to read. The back of the envelope is quite confusing in terms of being able to work out what you need (more so than normal!), and the instructions often seem unnecessarily complicated.

This particular design comes in a choice of two lengths, has three different sleeve styles, and optional pockets. Directions are also included for piping all of the seams. Throughout the pattern you’re sewing concave to convex edges to make the curved side front seams and the neck band. The sleeves are either faced or bagged out. The front facing’s rather fiddly, and the sleeves and neck band were a nightmare to put together neatly.

I sew three or four days out of every week, and I found this pattern rather difficult!

I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who didn’t already have plenty of sewing experience – and plenty of patience. It took me around six hours to get this far, and I was expecting it to take about half that time.

As I was putting this little tunic together, I was a bit worried that my choice of colours was going to make me look like a dental nurse. Looking at the photo though, I think the style is quite cute. Slightly sixties-looking, and I think the button makes all the difference. I don’t know whether that’s going to be my final choice of button – I need to see the colours in daylight – but I think whichever button I choose,true religion jeans fat girl, it needs to be a big one.

All I need to do now is put in the zip, finish off the last few loose ends,true religion jeans cheap, and give the whole thing a good pressing. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t get it finished today,cheap true religion jeans, as I was planning on wearing it to work tomorrow, along with my new leggings!

Still, I’d rather do it properly, than try to finish it in a hurry and make a mess of it.

I keep going back to these little raglan tunic patterns, so I guess my next step is to draft one of my own. Whatever I come up with, I do know that it won’t have a neckband, and it won’t have such complex curves! I’m still in love with the pockets though.

Tags: organic cotton, Simplicity 2927

In the beginning I’d like to quote an extremely well known American designer named Bill Blass:

Sometimes the eye gets so accustomed that if you don’t have a change, you’re bored. It’s the same with fashion, you know. And that, I suppose, is what style is about.

One of the easiest and inexpensive ways to make a change in your wardrobe is to wear accessories. Women have plenty to choose from but men seem to be limited when it comes to them. Not so!

If you want a stylish accessory, ties are the solution.

And since I don’t give advice just to hear myself speak,true religion knock off jeans, I have exactly five reasons for you in favor of wearing ties.

1. Ties can be worn with blue jeans. When we think of ties, we automatically think suits. Not exactly so – you can wear them with casual outfits as well (think jeans and polo shirts),true religion jeans! If you want to impress a girl or just wear something different, you don’t have to spend big bucks on plenty of clothes. Wear the same ones and add a tie.
2. You will look taller. Vertical stripes on a shirt give the impression that the person is taller than he or she actually is. Ties achieve the same effect. Trust me, the effect is as real as it can be!
3. You’ll look classy. Even if you go for slim ties, you’re still inclining the balance towards casual for your outfit. It’s one thing to wear a big sliver chain around your neck and it’s completely different to wear a tie.
4. You have plenty to choose from. Generally, when matching outfits it’s hard to play with colors and patterns. You risk looking ridiculous. When it comes to ties, however, you can choose from the plethora of patterns: uni (without any patterns), with stripes even with animals silhouettes (I’ve seen one of those they look awesome!)
5. The tie can be the one colored element in an otherwise dark outfit. If you’re just starting changing your wardrobe, you may have a lot of black, white and gray clothes in your closet. if they fit you you can just add a colored uni tie to make things interesting (for instance, if you have a gray V-neck and a white shirt you can get a nice orange tie. Try it out!

Now that you have some serious reasons to wear ties, there’s only one thing left: to go try a few of them out. And don’t forget to learn at least one tie knot.

Here’s how to do it:

1. decide whether you want a suit tie or a casual one. Suit ties should always be made out of silk while the slim ones can be made of synthetics (thus you’ll end up cheaper).
2. Wear your favorite shirt or t-shirt, with which you intend to wear the tie with.
3. Go to your local mall and try at least a dozen of them. See how each color goes with what you’re already wearing. If would be useful if, beforehand, you read a little about how and which colors go together and how they should be matched with your skin complexion.
4. Find the one you like best, try it on one more time and then BUY IT.

The last step is the most important one. I’m not telling you to buy just to spend your money. I will never ever do that.

If this is your first tie that you plan on wearing regularly, getting it now is a commitment form your part that you’re serious about changing your wardrobe. If you procrastinate you may end up not getting one at all and… my article would be useless.

I’ll leave you with the quote from the beginning. Hopefully you’ll see it with different eyes now:

Sometimes the eye gets so accustomed that if you don’t have a change, you’re bored. It’s the same with fashion, you know. And that, I suppose, is what style is about.

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