McCalls 6550

I have a finished project to share! But first, I'm gonna keep my promise (since I just made it today) and share a blog I find inspiring. I just discovered it today...

Jolies bobines is written in French, and Google translate only gets me so far, but the pictures say a thousand words. Check out these lovely makes...

...and those are just what's on the front page of her blog right now. Impressive, no? I particularly like the dress in the center, because it's a color combo I probably wouldn't think of and I think it looks great. I foresee some time lost surfing her archives in the near future.

Now, on to a project I finished a while back...

The pattern is McCalls 6550, a vintage pattern from the 70s.

I should have graded this one up a size, but instead I just added some length and a little extra at the side seams. Next time, though, I will do it properly. I think the fit would be slightly nicer if there were some extra fabric gathered at the front yoke/shoulder/whatever you call that area. As is, it pulls across the bust a little. I don't think it's too noticeable, but I think to stay true to the design of this top it should fit a little looser. Despite that, I consider this one a success, and I've already gotten a lot of wear out of it. I can definitely see myself making more of these as it doesn't require a lot of fabric (I only used 1 yard), it's a great lightweight summer top, and it layers easily.

I put a lot of little blue buttons down the front. It was a lot of buttonholes, and my sewing machine doesn't like buttonholes so much. In fact, whenever I have to do buttonholes I contemplate buying a new machine. Someday... I didn't put in the casing for the waist tie, but I did stitch up a tie to wear with the top. Mostly I've worn it without...

Cool plants, huh? I took these photos with Josh at the greenhouse on campus. I thought the greenery was a good accompaniment to the fabric, which is a voile from Amy Butler's "Soul Blossoms" collection.

Check out the pretty orchids! I liked these little cement pools of water plants. They even had fish.

back view

Want to see some more plants?

It was very inspiring to wander around the greenhouse while thinking about sewing. There are so many interesting patterns and shapes and textures in a greenhouse. If I ran Project Runway (don't get me started) I would definitely have a greenhouse challenge. Just think if they were to design prints here, or do a challenge where they had to play with shapes. I would loooove to see what they came up with.

Do you draw inspiration from nature when you sew?