Sew What It's Summer - Week 1

Week 1 Challenge: Work & Play

I am lucky enough to work at a place with a corporate casual dress code that loosens up a bit during the summer to allow for capris, sleeveless shirts and cool summer dresses. We're Mainers - we can withstand 9 months of freezing cold and snow while maintaining a dress code but when the summer heat and humidity comes along our wardrobe goes straight for comfort.

This lightened dress code in mind - I planned to make a dressy t-shirt. Long in the back, short in the front made from a lightweight knit and covered in the front with a sheer panel using Butterick Pattern #5754. I was thinking breezy, cool and comfortable while in style and easy to construct.

It should have been such an easy project to complete but instead it turned out absolutely horrible! I've been making clothes for years and it has been awhile since I have messed something up this badly. I knew immediately after I cut out the pattern that something was amiss but I kept thinking I could fix it.  I cut out an XL - what I would buy in the store but it was huge.  I should definitely have cut a L or even M. The sheer panel never matched up correctly so I kept compensating or altering the cut on the hem, neck and even sleeves. The sleeves were also a horrible mix of long and short in all the wrong places. Once hemmed is where the real tragedy happened - totally uneven and rolling all over the place.

While I was sewing I knew it was turning out poorly but figured it would be more play that work. I hate to say it but I think this may be one for the "never going to wear, send to the scrap pile".

So I'm going to take this week as a lessons learned and move on to next week. Polka Dots up next!