Bonn #4

Another week, another Bonn (affiliate link).  Don't worry, I've decided that after this one, I should probably crack open a different button-down shirt pattern as I round out my fall and winter wardrobe. But the newest horse in my stable is made out of what appears to be a cotton/linen blend shirting I recently ordered from FabricMart.

This one is a size 10DD with a 1 1/8" forward shoulder adjustmen. Both the body and the sleeves are lengthened 1.5" and point of the V neckline is an inch lower.  Now, maybe because of the lower-v and the forward shoulder, the neckline isn't as open as I'd like and I notice that the back neckline is just a bit too wide.  I am thinking of reducing the length of the neckline and collar (ok, maybe I will make another one sooner than I had thought).

Like on my last two Bonns, the bust darts are an inch shorter and an inch lower, and the sleeves are a size 10 with a 1.5" full bicep adjustment.  I find on this one that the sleeves are a little too voluminous below the elbow.  I think they look great rolled up, though (and the extra volume makes a neat roll a little bit easier).

I ended up hemming the shirt with self-fabric bias binding.  I did have to redo it once, as I had forgotten to clip the seam allowance before turning it up, but once I did that, the hem fell flatter than the hems on any of my previous Bonns (though still not completely flat, grrr).  I just can't seem to figure out how to hem a curved shirt tail satisfactorily.

Also, I want to note for future Masha that this shirt used up 64 inches of a 57" wide fabric.

Like my other Bonns, this one is sure to be a regular in my fall and winter rotation.  It's not actually warm enough to wear it yet (and I'm totally ok with that), but I imagine I'll be reaching for it in a few weeks.

Last bit of vacation sewing

I know it's September 17, and evidently Target thinks time is nigh to throw the ol' Christmas lights up on the shelves.  (It's not.)  Because, guys, summer isn't quite over.

Here in my part of the world, we've had a few lovely 80-degree days recently.  Today I realized that I hadn't blogged the Pony tank I am wearing with my newly shortened Alberta Street skirt, so I decided to get a few photos and put them up here for future reference.

The tank was one of those it's-almost-vacation-and-I-need-to-make-something-new impulse sews.  Like my previous Pony Tank (the blue and white one, as I ended up giving the other one to my mother-in-law in July), this one is a straight size 16 with the exception of the armscye depth, which I cut on the size 8 line.

I once read a review of a dramatic hi-lo top on a blog (I can't remember which), where the writer described the back part of the top as a "butt cape."  Wearing my first Pony makes me feel a bit like I have on a butt cape, so I decided to shorten the back a bit.  I think I actually shortened the whole thing, but the drapey rayon sprang up higher than I had expected, so I ended up leaving the edges raw. I like these proportions better than the ones on my other Pony.

I also recently shortened my denim Alberta Street skirt.  I love this skirt and wear it all the time, through all seasons.  This summer, however, the length suddenly seemed a little frumpy.  I was really surprised; I've always been a knee-length-or-longer kind of girl when it comes to skirts, usually feeling uncomfortable in a skirt any shorter.  But I think my style is changing a bit, influenced no doubt by the legions of sewing blogs I read.

I'm digging a shorter skirt these days, so I took off about 2.5 inches and I'm really pleased with the results.  I almost can't wait to try it with tights and boots.  Except, I can.  Summer, don't leave me yet!

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!