MMMay Day 10: Skirt of an awkward length

Last night I learned something dangerous. I learned that Joann's is merely four more BART stops down from my home stop. This weekend was the 99 cent Simplicity patterns sale and there might have been a few patterns that I was willing to pick up for that price. I surprised myself by making something right away from Simplicity 1358, which is also branded under their Easy Summer Sewing line, a simple tank dress out of knit fabric. I decided to go with View C and make the knee length version. Again, I used a piece of fabric that I picked up at the Depot so the most I paid was $2. It was super easy to cut out and the size small fits pretty great, but there are two problem areas: gaping in the armhole area and excess fabric in the back.

I think the armhole problem might fix itself when I add the armhole bands. The back issue is something that I have in my hand knit sweaters, too. In a pattern out of woven fabric I would dart the back. I would do that in this specific fabric because it is a dense knit and the print is busy enough to hide it. However, I would prefer not to do it in a solid color knit or really at all. I think investigating the correction for sway back might help me with this one.

Lest you think I have abandoned Vogue 8815, I also worked on the muslin today. I took up the shoulders and added an armscye dart, which dealt with whole underarm/bust business. I also moved the darts down and inch and narrowed them all around to give me another inch in the waist. I was hoping to avoid putting a zipper in this top, but even with a little more room in the waist I need a zipper to minimize stress on the seams when taking it on and off. Tomorrow I am going to redraw the pattern pieces and cut out fabric for a wearable muslin. Eventually I want to make a peplum top that I can pull over my head, but I think I will use Simplicity 1362 (also branded under the Easy Summer Sewing line) for that.

I did have another non-repeat Me Made today in the form my my Door Skirt. This skirt started it's life as another skirt most likely from the 80s with lots and lots of gathers. I got it at Goodwill, took it apart, washed it, pressed the hizzy heck out of it, and used a pattern to make it into an A-line skirt. Originally I was super lazy and kept the original hemline. The result was a skirt that hit somewhere in the mid to upper shin range. A couple of years ago I was somewhat lazy and re-hemmed it when what I should have done was taken it apart and reshaped at least the bottom half of the skirt. I still wear it, but as the title of the post suggests, it's kind of an awkward length.