Mushroom magic

I'm finally getting to some sewing that I meant to finish years ago, when my daughter had less surface area and a little fabric went a lot further (more on this here). This was initially purchased for a whole set, before I knew I'd have a child who'd refuse to wear anything but "skinny pants" no matter the weather - depths of winter, the hottest, sweatiest day of summer, and everything in between.

In any case, I'm setting aside the leftover shot cotton that was to have been pants and saving it for something else. And here's the top, McCalls 5568, in all its mushroom excellence:

How I ended up with two identical patterns (this one and M6059 are the same but for elasticized pocket tops) is beyond me but probably had something to do with the fog that was 2010. It's looking a little big, which is fine by me because summer's half over (waaaah, says this teacher!) and I want to see this get a full run in 2015, too.

I love the options for contrast fabric in this style of top and chose a raspberry shot cotton for the yoke. My model chose a rust-toned pair of skinny pants to wear, which highlights the other dark tone in the fabric. The only drawback of this model in my mind is showing so much skin in summer which requires applying tons of sunscreen.

Summer lawn flowers

I received a beautiful piece of Alexander Henry cotton lawn for my big birthday, but just one yard. This proved a bit of a challenge when choosing a pattern that would cover either my upper or lower body. I ended up going with the first thing I found in the house, Simplicity 4583. The pattern was favorably reviewed on Pattern Review and I knew I'd made it at some point in my life as a dress. The fabric looked great once lined with unbleached muslin - the colors popped just a bit more and the lining gave the lawn a bit more structure, which I appreciate as I age.

Usually I find that commercial patterns are way too big on me, so I was a bit dismayed when I tried on the top before inserting the zipper. Yikes! Time to lay off those brownies, people. I needed to rip out my side seams from the band down and pare my zipper seam allowance down to the bare minimum. I also found the whole part above the band to be a bit too wide for my shoulders and bust. Oh, and the darts hit a bit high on me, too. But other than that, really just perfect. And I do still love the fabric.

From the front

From the back - a bit dicey in the midsection