Three tests gone bad very good for someone else, not me.
Test #1: A new-to-me designer and indie pattern maker, MariaDenmark. Open the website, sign up for her newsletter, and you receive a free downloadable pattern for her Kirsten Kimono Tee. 
Maria’s tagline is “for clothes you wear every day.”
A downloadable pattern, if you’ve never used one, is a PDF file you download, print on regular 8.5″x11″ copy paper, then tape together along printed lines. Some have only one or two sizes; some have all sizes.
I grabbed a remnant of the Gorgeous poly/rayon/lycra knit that I used for Katherine Tilton’s Butterick 5925. The pattern doesn’t include seam allowances. Being lazy that day, I opted to just cut one size too large rather than tracing out with seam allowances. Yeah, I know. Dumb. I first cut the hem, then moved up to the neckline and cut the wrong size! Double dumb!
This error wasn’t something one could redo, and there are always friends clamoring for my garments. So I just sewed it up, tried it on, thought “yes, I’d like one of these in my size,” and finished it to give to a friend.
I will try more of Maria’s patterns. They truly are designs you can wear every day.
Test #2: I’ve sewn a couple of garments from Australia’s StyleArc. My only complaint is they only include one pattern size in the envelope, not like bigger companies that include 6 sizes or all sizes in one envelope. The multi-size practice lets you allow for figure variances. With a single size pattern (i.e. size 14 or size 16, not one-size-fits-all …) you have to compare your body measurements to the size chart on the pattern envelope. And then hope for the best.
When I have bought several StyleArc patterns, but this is only the second one I’ve made. The first one was from a loose-knit fabric that had a lot of stretch. The amount of stretch in a fabric affects the fit. Much stretch = loose; little stretch = tight.
I’ve been begging Marcy Tilton for months to try to find some silk jersey for her store. She finally got her hands on some black silk jersey and I grabbed several yards. This is exquisitely beautiful fabric. Here’s a similar silk knit from Marcy. The “hand” of the fabric—how it feels—is wonderful. You want several garments from this fabric, including a pair of pajamas!!
One of the StyleArc patterns I had purchased was the Cate’s Cousin top. It’s a t-shirt with a cowl neck and dropped shoulders, and I was sure it would look lovely on me.
The silk jersey is a fairly stable knit, easy to sew and with a reasonable amount of stretch. Not too much, not too little. I quickly made up the size 14, adding a little pocket inside the cowl drape so I could insert a quarter to weight it down. I didn’t really like the back neck binding method, but was in one of my I only have a few minutes to sew periods, so went ahead and finished it up. (See my little “quarter” pocket in the photo?)
When Spousal Equivalent got home from work, I tried it on. He looked at me, and the rolls of Winter Warmth around my waist and said, “Unh uh.”
The lovely Cate’s Cousin silk top was placed on a hanger and hung alongside the #1 test above.
Test #3: Color. I knit a beautiful cashmere cowl a few months ago. When I selected the Very Expensive cashmere yarn—online, of course—I thought the shades of red in the yarn would go with the beloved red top from Katherine Tilton’s Butterick 5725 that I made last year. I finished the cowl, then put it on with the red top and just shook my head. Back to my favorite online fabric stores, I found a beautiful Garnet Red Parisian Microfiber Knit at MarcyTilton.com. I ordered two yards. When it came in, I held up up to the knit cowl and rejoiced. Then I held it up to my face, against my “autumn” coloring, and lost all my joy. This garnet red fabulous fabric was not for me.
So it was made up in Katherine Tilton’s Butterick 5925, the same pattern I used for the red top, but in View A, with round neck, twisted binding, and pockets on each side, with the same twisted binding. This pattern goes together quickly and is a very versatile style. It’s finished now, and the cowl looks great with it.
It, too, is on a hanger, with #1 and #2. The beneficiary flew in from Texas yesterday and will try them on tonight to see if she really really wants them. (She told me yesterday she doesn’t care how big they might be on her. She wants them!!)
The third time is the charm, right. Thinking twice about future fabric purchases, adding seam allowances to my next Kirsten Kimono Tee, and buying some size 16 patterns from StyleArc.
