Last weekend I completed a shirt from the New Look 6217 pattern. I completed the skirt and the cardigan in my intro to garments class last fall, so I decided to try out the top with some really cheap fabric I got on sale.

As you can see no set in sleeves or anything tricky. I don’t even know what to call the fabric I used; it was definitely a woven, with a lot of drape and a little stretch. Probably some synthetic in there. I found it on sale at a big-box fabric store and bought it thinking I could practice with out wasting pricy fabric (more on that later).

And the finished product! Very serious face here. No close ups because then you could see all the flaws, ha! I had never done a bias neckline before so that was a great learning experience. I made my bias tape really quickly and then totally forgot how to apply it so who knows how it is attached. The best part of this is the bottom hem; I used a trick I learned from my class to help a curved hem turn up. Basically you just stitch the curve before you fold up the hem and that helps the fabric ease into place. It worked wonders!

Today I went to my local fabric store (where I take my classes) and spent WAY too much on fabric. I bought a stretch jacquard that was $38 a yard!! Eep! They were having a sale at least, but it was just so darn pretty. I couldn’t leave without it. I also snagged some $2 patterns and a bias tape maker.

In non-sewing related news I’m trying to spruce up our teeny tiny bathroom. Last weekend I used a million different cleaning methods to scrub the bathtub before settling on baking soda and vinegar. And this weekend I decided to tackle the window that sits in our shower. This window needs some serious TLC. The paint is very chipped and wood might be starting to rot – we couldn’t even open it until last summer. It really just needs a new coat of mildew resistant paint. But first….

I’ve been stripping the paint of this all afternoon – I had to take a break before my arms fell off or the fumes got to me. Hopefully I’ll have this finished up tomorrow! DIY or die!