Made By A Fabricista: Ready For A Cruise
Happy new year! This year my husband and I are looking forward to a late spring river cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Since I started last year sewing my outfits for the various excursions on land, the only garment pieces left to sew were those I will wear on the ship. I wanted these to be interchangeable, so I picked gray as my base color. I wanted very comfortable garments for ease of movement around the ship. Luckily Fabric Mart was running a huge knit sale and pattern sales were going on in many stores and online.
For walking around the ship, Butterick B6050 gave me the look I was going for in a knee length pullover dress. Its shaped hemline had an easygoing vibe; its twisted upper back detail bumped it up a notch. The heathered light gray/black polyester sweatshirt terry knit with embroidered floral branches (SKU: BUB4879g) was soft and had just the right amount of stretch for our activities. I shortened the elastic in the upper back by one inch because it drooped a bit more than I wanted otherwise. To make it bra friendly, I tacked the edge of the twisted upper back to the top of the elasticized back. Because the weather can be breezy and cool, I also sewed a matching unlined duster using Butterick B6176.
For a special dinner or cocktail hour, the dim gray polyester/lycra meandering mini sequins on knit (SKU: WOA9304) elevated the basic pullover Kwik Sew K3766 with just a little bit of bling. The selvedge of the fabric made a good scoop neckline band. I was reminded to sew a bit slower though when the sequins broke one needle. Using Butterick B6137 for the pants again, I used a deep carmine red polyester/lycra crushed stretch velvet knit (SKU: UCA7352r). The fabric and the color combinations glammed the outfit!
Overall, I am very pleased with my cruise wardrobe. I used 6 easy sew patterns and 5 different knit fabrics- double brushed knit, French terry, sweatshirt terry, sequined knit, and stretch velvet, to make 7 garment pieces. All were machine washable and required no ironing, perfect for travel. I prewashed them all before cutting. In sewing I engaged the walking foot setting in my machine, used Size 80/12 Schmetz jersey needle, added a clear elastic on the shoulder seams to control the stretch, and serged the edges. Oh, the total cost for the fabrics was just around $50! I am so ready for the cruise!
Till next time,
Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categorie KNITS.
Beautiful
I love how you made these coordinating outfits.
Beautiful!
Nice!
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