Birthday suit

Busy day today, took the day off but have spent most of it on the phone to extended family, good thing.

Did get to do one project though and that was to turn some marinating-at-the-bottom-of-the-Rubbermaid cotton terry/velour knit into a sewing/blogging top to go with my leggings. Taken in my basement because on short notice that's where I found a spot to steady my camera on remote. Not the world's best picture but does the job today. Sorry about the spots on the knees, also did a bit of cleaning today.


Very nice birthday. My husband who has been working out of town, and was due back tomorrow night,  called to say he had arranged for someone to take over and he is coming back to take me out for supper. Nice talks with all my kids and my surfer/student son called to say that for my birthday, since he is a poor student, he isn't giving me anything but taking something away - he got his hair cut. Since he has been walking around with his hair looking like an eagle had made some sort of random nest up there, I am pleased.


Back to sewing - I really like this pattern and am happy with my day.

Simplicity 2568

At the end of last winter I picked up a couple of pair of really great leggings - very heavy, good quality knit, and super comfortable to wear, I thought around the house, or for shopping, dog-walking - things like that.


What I soon discovered was that I had few tops that really worked with these leggings. Few that looked simple and comfortable without looking messy and too Big Shirtish, and weren't too short for my seasoned figure. I also wanted to save my serious sewing time for dresses so have been on the look-out for easy-to-sew comfortable top patterns that would work with my leggings.


Simplicity 2568 was one I tried.

Now this is a woven pattern but it had sort of an interesting very retro shape ( I think I wore exactly this top, as a dress, in high school). I decided to try it in some rayon/anonymous double knit I had at the bottom of the old Rubbermaid boxes (there must be a lot of fabric in those containers all over this continent).


I cut my usual size, but went down to a 12 at the neckline as an experiment and added 13" to the length. Of course as this was a knit I disregarded the zipper and made this just a pull-on number. I realized that there was not a lot to this pattern, just a front and a back really, as the sleeves are cut-on dolmans - so I added the little tab buckle things that was in the view for the short top for some interest.  I miscalculated when I placed these tabs though, and they ended up at belly level, breaking my rule to make sure absolutely everything I sew a detraction from my Worst Feature. I most definitely wish these buckles were about waist height.


That said I really like this top. I wanted something to go over leggings that didn't look too much like a gathered maternity top, and something I could wear my wide assortment of short fitted knit tops and T shirts under in colder weather.


This is a pretty loose but I like it, feels so comfortable without being sloppy. I already have another one cut out.


These tops, with leggings would be great to wear for my precious staying at home and sewing days, and that is probably where I will wear them.


One more detail that I want to mention. Despite the simplicity of this pattern the facings were really nice. The front facing has a deep curve in it at centre front so the neck, which will gap a bit, never shows anything but a nice smooth finished face - so much better than similar necklines I have seen that just have turned and topstitched necklines.


My version of lounge wear.