Sharon Sews

This is the time of year that I pack away my summer wardrobe and dig out the fall and winter items. So this weekend I began clearing from my closet the white pants and skirts, the pink tees and shoes, and the lightweight jackets with the beautiful summer prints. That carried into my sewing room and sewing projects. I'm anxious to begin sewing some of the new patterns I've purchased recently. However, I decided it was time to finish the many unfinished sewing projects that have been buried in my closet. First up - a pair of pants. I had a pair of pants cut from this pattern - Simplicity 5202, c. 2004 - that I managed to complete. The color is a beautiful deep chocolate brown, but the fabric is actually fairly lightweight and drapey. Probably a rayon blend and to be honest, I have no idea why I would have chosen to sew pants from this fabric. It would have had great movement made up into a skirt. I did eliminate the slit at the center front of the pants as well as the beltloops.

I changed my mind on the midriff band. The dress really needs some contrast there to help show the lines of the dress. I dug in my stash and found a small piece of black velvet - enough to use for the band. The next step was to sew the skirt pieces together and attach them to the top portion of the dress . I left the center back seam open so I could insert an invisible zipper. As I was sewing in the zipper, when I came to the midriff band I realized that I had neglected to verify if the bands matched up in the back. Since I was almost done putting the zipper in, I decided to finish it and rip it out if the bands didn't match up. As soon as I finished the last stitch, I zipped it closed and breathed a sigh of relief. A perfect match! I still haven't decided on what to put on the neck bands, so I will put the dress aside while I wait for something to catch my eye.