Garment Sewing

I recently got a fantastic deal on some beautiful silk reversible decorator fabric. I immediate thought of using it for garments, but wasn't sure what. When I got home I remembered a fleece wrap that I had bought a couple of years ago and always loved to wear.

If you are a garment sewer, you might be able to tell that this is made from one big circle with two armholes. It has to be made from a fabric that looks good on both sides, as this fleece does, or my magnificent new silk. I cut one out and when I realized it would work, I went back to the sale the next day and bought more fabric. I wore my first one to a big holiday luncheon to rave reviews. So many people, including strangers, came up and told me how much they liked it. With that confidence under my belt, I made a few more and they will be for sale at the Brookfield Craft Center Holiday sale.

Since the fabric is reversible, it looks good on both sides and is slightly different on each. You need a pin, sparkly or not, to hold it in place.

On this one I folded the edges of the top under to give it more of a collar affect. Wouldn't this be pretty for a holiday party?

I originally thought that I could just use a satin stitch on the edges, but that did not work at all, due to the fact that the silk wants to ravel. So I made French binding and used that on all the edges. I got pretty good at it as I went along. I cut my bias strips 2 inches wide and folded it in half. I sewed it on with a quarter inch seam, then turned it over, using lots of steam and covered the stitching on the other side. Then I stitched in the ditch on the front, catching the edge on the other side.

Front

Back

I wish I had taken a picture of the other one at the shop, but I didn't. It is the same fabric in shades of dark brown and tan, very elegant. (PS when I went to deliver these two garments I found out that the dark brown and tan one had sold.)

I'm wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I will be going to my niece's as usual and will share pictures of her gourmet feast and decor later this week. 

I'm linking up with Off the Wall Friday.