The Siena has a vintage bowling alley feeling, I think. And it is a great canvas for striped fabric. This fabric is from Marcia Derse's commercially printed lines. It is called ice blue frost, from her Bookends series. It is a light-weight cotton border print and reads as a kind-of stripe. The selvage contains a wide painterly stripe of medium and dark blue. I used that for the front panel and the back yoke.
I am totally enamored of her prints. If you are interested in her, see her story here. It almost makes me want to run dye some fabric. Almost. I'd much rather sew and let people like Marcia do the dyeing.
The Siena is a great summer top. I shortened mine about 1.5 inches for a more flattering length on me. And I've seen it lengthened into a long winter vest. It's fun to think of all the variations in proportion.
I made a straight Medium and discovered (ahem) that I needed more room through the hips/tummy. Luckily there are 6 vertical seams - the side seams, the front panel seams, and the back panel seams. So I was able to let it out enough to feel more comfortable. I do not like for things to fit tightly at this stage in my life.
The Siena lends itself to stripes, I think. All the panels allow you to reorient the grain for interesting effect. The main print creates a horizontal striped effect from selvage to selvage. I rotated this 90 degrees for the side panels, so that the stripes run vertically. I also rotated the sleeves to run the stripe vertically.
The pattern is nicely drafted with a conventional back yoke, collar band, and collar. These are men's shirting details that I like a lot.
Have you seen the new issue of American Craft? It looks interesting, doesn't it?
My new Peony vest is in a stage of reverse engineering. Stay tuned, if you can stand more Sewing Workshop ruminations and exclamations! I hope that you are staying cool if you are in the middle of this hot, hot summer we are having in the US. A great time to stay inside and sew.
That shirt looks great on you! Love that fabric. And thank you for telling us about the issue of American Craft magazine, I'll look for it.
ReplyDeleteGreat placement of the fabric!
ReplyDeleteI love your Sewing Workshop posts. I have loved TSW designs for decades. Thanks for sharing your experiences and successes (like this shirt!) with Linda Lee's patterns.
ReplyDeleteLove your "ruminations" on TSW patterns! I was just looking at a stripe fabric on sale at Marcy Tilton's when I decided to tune into your blog. The Siena, of course!
ReplyDeleteMarcia, what a fabulous shirt you have made, with that gorgeous print. May have to get both! I'm trying to get more wovens in my wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteI agree totally with all the comments above! The Cortona is also well suited for some color blocking. I made one in some subtle shades of soft green and blue.
ReplyDeleteKathy
I so LOVE that fabric! Beautiful shirt and you wear it well!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for alerting me to Marcia Derse, her work is extraordinarily beautiful. Do you know if it's all printed on light-weight cotton?
ReplyDelete....and now to find out how expensive it would with shipping and customs to get some to Denmark....
Have enjoyed following your work for some time now, thank you for sharing it.
I love all your posts, and this garment is lovely. It looks perfect for summer! The fabric placement is spot on.
ReplyDeleteI am. B-I-G fan of all things Marcia Derse...quilter that I am. Your blog plus GayleeGirls always provide so much inspiration for me! Thanks to you, I am gathering a supply of TSW patterns!
ReplyDeleteoh, this turned out very nice. I found that the seams hit me too far out and I just cannot wear this particular style of bowling shirt. But yours is perfection on you and the fabric is rich and cool looking.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Sienna blouse -- have made it many times. It is perfect for color-blocking. I was so glad to find this shirt in a commercial pattern. I bought a rtw shirt exactly like it, 15-20 years ago, and took the shirt apart at the seams to use it as a pattern, when it got too old and stained to wear. The Sienna blouse pattern pieces are easier to use, thank goodness. And because most of the pattern pieces are narrow, you can eke it out of mere scraps. Have even lengthened the sleeves and added plackets and cuffs, in a corduroy version. Have also made the Cortona a couple of times. Lost enough weight recently that neither version fits anymore; which is a perfect excuse to schedule a trip to look for fabric. Excuse me while look for my car keys.
ReplyDelete