I hope that all of you experienced a safe and festive 4th of July. I had a bit of time to sew this weekend and have been wanting to try a pattern I have seen on two blogs, Cottage Cozy and Sweet Cottage Dreams. Carrie and Becky both made beautiful blouses and since I don't usually make clothing, I thought I would give it a try. I didn't want to use any "good" fabric since it's expensive and I didn't know if I would be able to figure it out so I search around in my pile of goodies and found two vintage tablecloths that had bad stains in places and had been purchased to make into something else. I used the floral cotton cloth for the front and back and used a linen, crochet trimmed cloth for the sleeves. I really like the way it came out and as my post title states, something old became something new.
I did learn a couple of things that I want to share. First of all, pattern sizing is not like purchased clothing items. I normally wear a size 10-12 top and needed to use the size 16 pattern for the blouse. It's important to take your measurements. I know we all get hung up on numbers (I'm one of the worst) but we are what we are, beautiful any size, and it would be so frustrating to finish it only to find out that you couldn't get it over your head. Also, the grain of the fabric is important. There is not a whole lot of stretch with a cotton tablecloth, but the little there is should have been placed in the opposite direction for sure. You want it to bend and stretch where you do. For a test sample, I'm quite pleased and plan on wearing it.
I ventured outside to see how the garden stood up to the intense heat on the 4th and caught a shot of this dragonfly. Honestly, it hung around so long that I thought it was posing!
I couldn't resist sharing this fantastic lily with you. I love it's ruffled edges and intense center color. It seems to me like it's sporting a fancy ball gown. I hope this day finds you thankful and rested from the weekend.
Hugs,
