And another one. Still learning.

Here is the other fabric that didn't make it into the photos from my last post (this one was also from Sally's Tag Sale-a vintage "made especially for JoAnn Stores"). When I was buying most of this fabric, I did actually have loose ideas for what I would use them for. Interestingly, most of those ideas were various articles of clothing for myself. Hmmm. Of course, now that I actually have all the fabric in hand, I'm feeling quite indecisive. What I originally thought would be perfect for a shirt, now maybe looks like it would be better as a skirt, and on and on and on like that.

Well, I bit the bullet with one of them and turned out another one of these. I lengthened it a bit to make it more like a tunic, and widened the neck and armhole facing pieces a little- mostly to make them easier to work with, but I ended up liking the way it changed the look just a little bit. Once it was done, I realized it was freaking huge on me. (Does this sound familiar?). WTF?! So I very carefully (since this fabric is quite thin, and I have not yet caught on that I should really be making muslins here) ripped the pieces apart and took in the sides a good 2 1/2 inches each and added two darts to the upper back piece. Much better.

I'm really happy with how it finally turned out. I had been really hoping to make myself something new to take to California so I'm glad that I was able to finish this in time. (For the record, I've already worn it two days in a row- but then again, isn't that what you're supposed to do with brand new clothes?).

For a while now, I've been working on some ideas for clothing designs, but I am absolutely terrified of making up my own pattern. I know I'll get there eventually, but it just seems so daunting. How am I supposed to know measurements and all that? Aside from the obvious just copying an existing garment- or is that what I'm supposed to do? Who knows. In any case, I certainly feel like I've made eons of progress in the last year. (I think it was right around this time a year ago when I was getting myself psyched up to try to follow a pattern). So I'm hoping that this learning curve just keeps on going and I'll be making my own designs (at least for myself- to start anyways) soon enough.

{Scarf knitted by my mom, definitely up there with the best Hanukkah presents ever. It's so amazingly soft, and happens to match this shirt beautifully}