One Fabric, Two Tops

Tim and I went to Bangkok's Chinatown last weekend as it seemed to be one of the few places unaffected by the Bangkok Shutdown protests. When Tim volunteers to go to the fabric area, I don't say no.  Plus we wanted to get some noodles and check out a temple we read about. 

We had an agenda for the fabric shopping, on a hunt for fabrics to go with specific patterns, but I also picked up three meters of this soft and flowy mystery fabric with a print that I dig.  I liked the mustard/olive background color, the feel of the fabric, and the price (55 baht per meter = $1.67 per meter right now).  I had one top in mind for it, but ended up with enough fabric for two, so, boom.  Two tops for $5?  Don't mind if I do.

First: the Weekend Getaway Blouse by Liesl & Co.  I had made this shirt a few months ago and liked it, but didn't love it.  I think it was a poor fabric choice on my part- not drapey enough.  Also, it was a bit too big for me.  So, on this one I went down a size and used my new mystery fabric.  I am gonna give it another emphatic "Meh."  I think it's just not the pattern for me... too boxy, yes?  

Also: this fabric was hard to work with.  Slippery as hell, making it difficult to cut.  It looked like a dog had chewed it vaguely along the pattern lines after I was done with it.  Sigh.

Second: the Meghan peasant blouse by Sis Boom, a personal favorite of mine.  I'd never made this pattern in anything but quilting-weight cotton, so I was curious about how it would work in a drapey-er fabric.  Pretty well, methinks.  I used the remainder of the fabric, so it's somewhere between dress and tunic length right now, but I might chop it of to shirt length.

Colleen's New Wardrobe

After traveling around the world with clothing options limited to what could fit into a backpack, Colleen was looking forward to getting some new duds upon returning to the U.S.  When in town for Christmas and New Years, she perused my fabric stash in search of some fabrics with which I could make her a couple new tops: 

Another Sis Boom Meghan Peasant in a pretty, modern batik that I bought it Jakarta... the print kinda looks like seaweed or kelp or something, no?

Another By Hand London Polly tank in a sea creature-themed fabric I bought online (Jay-Cyn Designs "Bubble Life" from Fabricworm, precisely).  I paired it with some blue/green/grey (sea-colored?) quilting cotton from a local Bangkok shop.  Don't be surprised if I end up with a matching top, Colleen.

Do you sense a theme?  Maybe it's all the diving Colleen and Steve have been doing. Under-the-sea seems to draw her in:

Batik Kimono Frankentop

Remember when I said I was struggling with the Diane Kimono top from Sew Serendipity?  Well, I had a mini-epiphany and decided since I hated the waistband so much and wasn't feeling the tie waist anyway, that perhaps it would work to combine the Diane bodice with the bottom of the Meghan peasant blouse that I love so much.  The Meghan has sort of an ingenious way of making the casing for the waist elastic... it's pretty awesome.  So I put them together and tried to make it work:

It actually worked out pretty well!  I still had a bit of trouble with the kimono top: lots of gaping at the neckline.  I ended up cutting some of the fabric off both sides of the neck, using bias tape instead of facings (which I loathe), and wrapping the two sides further across each other than called for in the pattern. The bottom was pretty foolproof, so I must be beyond a fool since I accidentally cut and sewed the back piece on upside down.  But the fabric (a piece of hand stamped batik from Pasar Mayestik) is busy enough that I don't think you can tell too much.  I think...

Not too shabby!

More Meghansl

Yep, I am nothing if not loyal to a pattern that I like.  Ten thousand Scout tees?  Don't mind if I do.  One million Meghan peasant blouses and/or dresses?  Sure.

Here are three more Sis Boom Meghan peasant blouses to add to that total, all made as gifts. 

(As an aside, a shot of me wearing one of my Meghan blouses is up over on my other bloggy blog, if you're interested.)

One Meghan in a fun, summery red/pink/orange batik from Pasar Mayestik, made for Brewster (or Bruce as we call her now, usually pronounced "Brooooooooooose!"):

One Meghan in a black and white floral batik, which I think I bought at an Indonesian handicraft fair that Tim and I went to here in Jakarta.  This one is a Meghan for Meghan, and I have a selfie she took of herself looking cute in it that she will probably kill me for posting since she took it first thing in the morning, but I cropped it so her sleepy face isn't plastered about the interwebs...

This one is for Chaz, who recently became an old lady and now must exclusively wear purple.  JK... we picked out this fabric a couple years ago at Joann's and I never got around to making something for her with it until now.  But I got to test out my new serger when making this one!  Sergers rule!

Kasbah Meghan

You're probably sick of seeing this pattern from me, but here is Sis Boom's Meghan peasant pattern in dress form.  I made it with some beautiful Amy Butler fabric, Kasbah in Midnight Blue, which is kind of a faux ikat print.

Love it!  I've worn it approximately twice a week in the past month since I made it... love the print, love the pattern, love how comfy it is!

Ikat Meghan Blouse

After my success with Sis Boom's Meghan pattern a few weeks ago, I had to make another one.

This one is made from some hand-woven Balinese ikat that I bought in Ubud... rust colored with a pretty teal, green and grey print.  I think my pattern placement was much better on this version, although the print does have somewhat of a uterine effect on the stomach area.  Oops!

(Please excuse my shiny face and awkward hands.  I don't think a career as America's Next Top Model is in the cards for me, for obvious reasons.):

I made it one size smaller for a closer fit after wearing the green version out and finding it slightly blousey in spots.  I think the bust fits better, but it's a smidge tight in the hips... shocking, I know. I may have to add some vents or whatever you call them on the sides.  Maybe next time I combine the two sizes, smaller on top and larger on the bottom.

Meghan Peasant Blouse

I think I may have found my new favorite pattern... the Meghan Peasant from Sis Boom.  It's basically the adult version of the Ella raglan blouses I made last week and it's awesome: comfortable, flattering neckline, amazingly clear directions.  Now that I've sewn up the blouse version of it, I can't wait to try the dress version!

I made it from this Michael Miller Kaleidoscope fabric I bought when it was on sale... apparently it's part of a Christmas line, which makes sense when you see it with all of the other coordinating fabrics, but on its own it doesn't really seem all that Christmas-y to me.  It's pretty summery, actually.  Well, at least I hope so!  

Regarding how I put the pattern together, I chose the lowest neckline option (there are 3), cut the bottom to be 15" long, and I skipped the arm elastic (too pinchy on my guns).  I probably should have paid a little closer attention to the placement of the large print of the fabric when cutting out the top, but it's not the end of the world.