Fabric choice and 2+2

I've been trying to sew down the old stash (since I've recently added, um, four packages of new stash and have two more on the way), and it's going fairly well.  The only sticking point is that top shelf of my fabric bookcase - the one full of quilting cottons.  You have a shelf like that too, don't you?  They are just so tempting - the adorable owls, the trendy chevrons, the polka dots - oh, the polka dots, in every color combination imaginable.  Yeah, I fell, and I fell hard.

Ah, memories.  This photo was taken about two and a half years ago, though somehow it feels like it's been much longer!  But yikes, talk about Becky Home-Ecky!  I don't remember what I was thinking pairing those prints, or using either one of them in these peasant tops at all - look at how stiff that fabric is.  It makes the peasant tops look even more boxy than they are.  A lighter, drapier cotton would have made a big difference.

I made countless other outfits like this, and my girls wore them happily, before I realized that there was more out there.  Fabric actually suited to apparel, that drapes nicely and doesn't stick out like a tent.

Before you quilting-cotton fans out there storm my blog with pitchforks, let me just say that there are lots of beautiful prints on quilting cotton, and that they are lovely for many projects.  Like quilts.  And cloth napkins and table runners and nursery decor, etc.  I think they can also make adorable summer skirts or fuller dresses for little girls.  I mean, where would I find a print like this one except in the quilting cotton section (pattern: O+S Bubble Dress, fabric: Joann, project: last summer)?  It's perfect for a three-year-old.

And among the quilting cottons, there are some with a hand better suited to apparel sewing - some that are very shirting-like, like the orange batik I used for N's Class Picnic top (Legacy Studios from Joann).

But when it comes to apparel, I think there is usually a better choice than quilting cotton.  And since I order most of my fabric online and thus can't feel before buying, I have moved on to apparel fabrics: Glowing sateens and silky voiles, soft gauzes and crisp poplins.  It's like a whole new sewing world.

Recently, I let each girl choose fabric from the stash for an Oliver+S 2+2 Top (sleeveless, my favorite way to make them; actually, the only way I've ever made them).  N chose a Lisette printed sateen and Z chose a yard of Michael Miller Meadowsweet (quilting cotton), which I fell in love with a couple years back.

Do you see? The top made from quilting cotton quite literally stands up by itself.

There is nothing on the inside supporting that top, other than perhaps some sewing spirit that haunts those who choose the wrong fabric for the garment - it is just the stiffness of the fabric, which, yes, I prewashed and dried.  The spirit wasn't interested in the sateen top, apparently.

These pictures were taken on a windy day, but I think you can see how nicely the sateen falls compared to the quilting cotton.

The material in this top reminds me of one of those paper cone cups they used to have by the water coolers in offices (do they still use those things?).  I think the sateen is probably more comfortable to wear, too.

Both girls are thrilled with their tops, though, and my stash is down one cut of quilting cotton, so I'm happy.

What about you - do you like the quilting cottons for clothing?  If you have suggestions for ranges that use a less stiff substrate, I'd love some suggestions for those occasions when I just have to buy a trendy print.