Pride Goeth Before a Fall

The last couple of posts have all been along the theme of how-awesome-is-the-online-sewing-community -- I guess that's fitting, seeing as how it's November and all. It was so nice going through and responding to all of the lovely comments you guys left for me, and seeing how incredibly empathic you all are! Seriously, why couldn't you all have been my middle school classmates?

To add to the love I've been feeling from you all, can I just say that it's been so gratifying to see all of the new dolman sleeve tops that have been popping up around the sewing blogiverse since my first round-up? Making a pattern, even if it's a free one, is kind of like throwing your baby out into the world and hoping it doesn't chew up too many people's tables or pee on their favorite textiles (obviously I know nothing about babies...this description makes it sound like I think babies = puppies). I mean, even if nobody's being forced to put out money for my pattern, I know they're still investing time and fabric into a project that I (kind of) promised would work. So seeing that it works for people makes me super happy!

Here are some of the more recent iterations of the top:

IZJ posted her make on Pattern Review (and you can too! ZOMG I can't believe my little baby is on PR.com!). See the picture here! I love that she cut the stripes on the bias! And for even more stripe-y goodness, this version has two of my favorite things: mustard color and chevrons! Wow, that's a lot of exclamation marks!

Emily took umbrage at my what-librarians-wear stereotyping, and rightly so, because her zebra print version is totally not a stuffy tweed suit. You guys know how I feel about animals on clothing, so it's no wonder I love her make!

She makes an excellent serious librarian face, right? 

Andrea of Stitch Parade made this lovely, practical, goes with everything version:

I love how she paired it with that bright necklace.

Ginger Makes (and her sister!) had a kniturday:

And Aleah of No Time to Sew made up another version, but added a skirt to make it into a dress! 

Brilliant idea. Brilliant fabric choice.

Anyway, if you've made one up and I haven't seen it, please let me know. I love seeing how other sewasauruses have taken this simple top and interpreted it for their own styles and wardrobes. And hey, if you want to review it on PR.com too, that will add to my excitement!


And now for my story: since I wear all of my own dolman sleeve tops so frequently, every time I come across about a yard of knit, I bookmark it for yet another version. Well, it got so that I thought I was oh-so-pro at whipping them up, and you all know that's a recipe for trouble...pride goeth before a fall and all that. I had this deliciously soft strawberry-stripes-on-heather-gray jersey from Michael Levine's Loft that was just enough to make the top out of. I cut out my main pattern pieces, the neck band, and the hem band, then thought oooh, I'll be clever and cut the arm bands on the bias for some cool stripey effects. Guess what I did? I cut those cuffs out of my front pattern piece. *head desk* At least I cut it off to the side, so I had two-thirds of a front piece that was still salvageable. I ended up having to piece together the rest of it from the scraps, leaving me with a surprisingly cool effect on the top. *whew*

My husband actually really liked the effect. He though I had bought this top, which, from him, is a compliment.

Yeah, this was totally a purposeful design element. Yup. Intentional. 

The back actually looks surprisingly boring in comparison. 

Sorry about the headless pictures...it was just a no-face kind of day, hence the bumming around the house in yoga pants and this top. It's finally getting fall-ish here in TCOCC, and for all that I'm glad to finally be able to wear boots and scarves, it's still slightly depressing that it gets dark so early! I blame the lack of sunlight for the brain fart that led to my cutting error. Do you ever feel like your sewing (or other brain-utilizing tasks) suffers between the autumnal and vernal equinoxes?