Seams & Selvage: Psychedelic!

That's how I feel about my latest creation, which was made with a cotton gauze material I picked up at either Joann's or Hancock Fabrics (can't recall which one). Anyone who knows me well knows that this exactly the kind of whacky pattern that would catch my eye at the shop. My poor mom would never be caught in such a pattern, so I am not sure where I got this love from, but I guess it doesn't really matter does it?

The pattern for this new shirt was Simplicity 3893, part of the Khaliah Ali collection. I chose to try out View E. Overall, it was an easy pattern, though I will admit that the elastic casing caused me quite a bit of heartache. In fact it remains the one part of the shirt I am not thrilled with and the part that I hope people don't look at very closely. I hope to do much better next time. I also think that the detail of the front placard gets lost in the pattern - if I could do it over again, I would have used a plain brown gauze for the placard and tie belt.

I definitely will try this pattern again, though next time I would definitely try a lighter-weight, more delicate material - in fact, I have a material in my stash that would probably be perfect once I am able to tackle really thin, light fabrics. I'm a huge fan of cotton gauze, but its a bit voluminous, so it changes the feel of the shirt. I also think it would be fun to experiment with some of the other styles. I also wonder whether I should grade the pattern on the top (smaller) since it's a bit to voluminous and possibly too long. I've got to start modifying the patterns more, but I am not quite confident enough to do that yet.

And now, the pictures!