True Bias Zoey tank x 2

I have known for awhile that I need to get some well fitting tank top patterns into my collection.  I got suckered into this one by Guthrie & Ghani, who had the perfect fabrics in stock, Lauren modelling the final result, and I even bought the double sized iron on sticky tape that she recommended for the bindings.  I did two of these, one of them for a pregnant friend of mine.  Size according to the size chart: size 2, though it's narrower than my hips I thought that wouldn't matter. 

The fabric is the Meet Milk derby ribbed Tencel. 

The tape stuff I am referring to is called Stretch Fix T30. It comes in strips or sheets.  I bought two strip units of it and I have lots more for other projects.  It is basically a dream for fixing curvy hems prior to topstitching them, as it stabilises while holding in place. 

I bought all this stuff from G&G, my friend paid half the shipping as well as paying for her fabric, so it offset some of the costs.  (I will say it's a bit offensive to hear a friend say $100 for a tank top is steep!  Sewist friends should know better!)

For my friend I lengthened the pattern the same as Lauren mentioned doing for her own pregnancy- I think it was 30 cm but might have been more.

Good thing I bought the sticky tape!  The fabric is relatively well behaved and it's so amazing when worn.  But getting those bindings on, and getting them on neatly, was a process that took some learning and was pretty frustrating the first time around.  Without the double sided iron on sticky tape I would have thrown things out the window.  The first version, for my friend, is less neat where the front and the arm bands meet up, but I was smarter the second time around. 

My friend, by the way, said this top was one of the only things that fit her near the end of her pregnancy.  The fabric is excellently stretchy. 

I like the fit of this and wear it reasonably often, but I won't be in a huge rush to make another one until I've tried a few other recommended tank tops.  Still planning on trying the Sommar cami and the Lola racer back tank.  Around these parts summer is only a hazy memory so not sure when that will be.

The Modern Sewing Co Potter jacket - an odyssey

I spent a LOT of time planning a Potter jacket.  I looked and pictures and reviews. I dreamed of multiple variations.  I had never made anything by the Modern Sewing Co before, but I liked the look of a few of her patterns and was deeply considering the Worker Trousers. I got excited by her own modifications of this jacket - there are posts where she lengthened it and added an A line shape to it.  Such that I finally bought it and had 2 copies printed so I could make multiple shapes. 

Somewhere in there though I read some blogs and some reddit posts speaking about the Worker Trousers, how the designer had been very defensive about some shortfalls...and I stopped trusting that this was going to be my favourite experience of all time.  I approached the pattern with some scepticism all of a sudden even though it wasn't based on any first hand evidence.  The A0 has all pattern pieces cut flat rather than on the fold so it is a VERY expensive pattern to print, I think it's 4 pages.

In the middle of that I committed to sewing it in oilskin.  I had cut the pattern out in size 10 to make sure it was just a touch roomy, and I knew it would fit on the yardage I had. And to make it even more fun, I chose silk as my lining.  AND decided to sew it while away at work, which meant taking all the supplies (thread, scissors, etc) with me to sew it at a friend's house, on her home sewing machine (50$ singer) which she had, in fact, never plugged in.  Add to this a horrible virus, fevers throughout, and my friend thought...that this was social time and stood there talking to me while I tried to concentrate.  

I had to underline all the pieces so that the oilskin wouldn't bother the silk.

I couldn't use pins, so I had to use clippies on everything. 

The welt instructions were bad.  Who does good welt instructions? I need to just buy a sewing book and reference that instead of indie pattern designers.  I had some issues with the sleeve cap fit but wasn't sure whether I had missed notches, or whether it might have been due to using clips instead of pins.    That hem corner where the hem and the lining are supposed to meet was a total shit show, as usual, but I don't think I have ever encountered a pattern that explained that process to me very well.  I also need to do a coat course and learn how to install fancy linings properly.

 

I survived the process and got over my cold and to my shock the fit of this pattern is really lovely.  I think it's a final realisation, however, that I do not like the feel of oilskin.  Maybe in a bag.  But I will stick to dry oilskin from now on.  The drafting of this seemed to be ok.  Despite my difficult fabrics, everything came together well and I think I will need to give this jacket another chance in the future, maybe with some easier materials.  This one is not likely to stick around though.