I recently read a blog entry by a woman whose fabric sings to her. Now, my stash seems to have acquired my shower singing voice, but I definitely hear voices when I’m in my sewing room.
This week I encountered a particularly bossy piece of forest green cotton lycra. This yardage was left from making a cute turtleneck leotard with matching circle skirt for one of my favorite clients. While I was sewing it, I thought the leftovers would make a nice long sleeve shirt for me. But, I moved on to the next project and forgot about this fabric until Monday, when I was thumbing through Ottobre Woman for inspiration and was grabbed by this top. Immediately the forest cotton lycra clamored to be let out of its bin and made into this shirt to wear to a friend’s house on Tuesday.
You must know, I tried to make it be quiet; after all, I’m supposed to be working on Christmas presents this week. But it wouldn’t listen and after wasting an hour or so of potential sewing time arguing with the fabric, I reluctantly traced the pattern. I wasn’t sure if there was enough fabric for the design, but the fabric insisted I try. It was right, there was just enough and so I cut and began to sew, instead of going to bed. I haven’t done many plackets, and so that was a challenge. I made some mistakes on the collar, most of which don’t show so I left them. For some reason I cut the whole design out with 3/8″ seam allowances when my serger sews with 1/4″. It was anything but sewing bliss. I finally gave up and went to bed once the shirt was ready for hemming, thinking I could get up early in the morning to finish. And I could have~had I not woken with a headache from staying up too late sewing the night before!
I wore something else to my friend’s house, and finished the hems later so that I could wear my new shirt today. Overall, I’m pleased with it. The sewing isn’t my best, but the fabric was right~it did need to be made into this pattern! Now. . .if only those Christmas present fabrics would be as demanding, I could cross some things off my to-do list!
