Sunday 22 February 2015

Camas in Marsala (and a nice GSM)

As soon as I had made my trial run of the Thread Theory Camas blouse I was on the hunt for the right fabric for the next one. I was imagining a kind of metallic, bronze (that would be brown, right! :) ) knit, but couldn't find such a fabric. What I did find was accidently on trend, so here I am in something very close to Pantone's colour of 2015: Marsala


The temptation to do something different with the yokes of the blouse is very strong, and I really like this one with sequins, turning it into evening wear. I wanted one a bit more dressy than my cotton interlock, but I didn't want to limit its usefulness for everyday wear. Obviously, it's a pattern to make over and over again!
 
 
The fabric I found is a 4 way stretch matte knit (rayon/lycra?) that almost feels like it could be used for swimwear (with some lining!). It's very comfortable and slinky to wear and nice and cool in the crazy weather we've been having lately.
 
Feeling a bit awkward, as always, posing for photos I decided the sun must be over the yardarm somewhere and cracked open a Grenache Shiraz Mataro. Perfect as a prop (literally and figuratively!) and I thought it would co-ordinate nicely with my top!
 
 

I dropped down one size from my first Camas blouse, so this one is a size 12, and I added 1 inch of length at the waist. The rest is as per the pattern. I like the curve as it kicks out over my hips, but if you're a bit straighter in the torso, or simply don't have a wide arse as I've been proven to have, you may want to shave a bit of width off at the bottom.


OK, let the posing continue...
 



I interfaced both the outer yokes and the yoke linings, so the shoulder sections are pretty stable. The blouse is slinky but not feeling like it's going to stretch out of shape and slip off my shoulders. That's extra important when you're rocking that plunging neckline! The pattern gives some very detailed finished measurements, so if, unlike me, you know how to interpret them, you could tell whether you'd be happy with how low the front may go.
 
 


There are just two points I'd make about the construction: Firstly, you really do have to sew the long, outer curve of the placket to the shirt. It does not seem to want to go that way and it's one of those awkward opposing curve moments in sewing. It would be very easy to do it the wrong way, but then you'll end up with a placket that sticks up at the back a bit like a Mandarin collar. Pay attention.
 
Secondly, there is a slightly misleading diagram regarding stitching down the placket. The written instruction says to topstitch near the placket/shirt seam, but the diagram appears to show topstitching closer to the placket edge. I did my first one as per the picture and while it looks fine, it is possible to peek under the placket on the inside and see the seam allowances in there.
 
I'm blaming the slippery fabric, but my placket was not looking all that even in width on this one, and I thought topstitching would only make it look worse. I ended up stitching in the ditch of the placket/shirt seam in order to stitch the placket down. I think that's a nice solution for a more formal version of the Camas.
 
 

These buttons seemed just perfect! I did do functioning buttonholes again, but I haven't ever undone any of them. There's no need for operational buttons, so don't let your sewing machines temperament with knit fabrics put you off the pattern.
Edit: I forgot to mention, Morgan has done a great blog post here showing how to use Tear Away Stabiliser to sew buttonholes onto delicate fabrics.


Thanks again to Thread Theory for giving me a copy of the camas blouse to sew.

Thanks also to my parents for their wonderful dining room backdrop, and my brother who stood in as lighting test subject and then took these pictures for me.

The best finish to a blog post involves small photobombers, so here's my brother dealing with photobombers as only he could!


15 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! The color is great, and I adore how you used an appropriate prop for your photos ;-) I never know what to do with my hands in blog photos. I was thinking of downsizing on my next Camas, too- lots of ease in that pattern.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Meg, between the downsize and the more fluid fabric this one is much more flattering than my first.
      I'm glad you liked my prop! I'm always hesitant to display any "vices" on the blog, but hey, I've got them, so let's be honest... :)

      Delete
  2. Nice blouse and those buttons indeed match perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Miranda. I bought two sets of buttons. The others were an even better colour match and have some silver detail on them, but I think they were just too showy for me after all. Plain and simple for this lady.

      Delete
  3. Oh lovely Camas blouse, and those buttons are perfect. Great photobombers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sharon! It was so nice to see my little nephew (and of course my brother). My kids love my brother as he's like some incredibly agreeable climbing frame!

      Delete
  4. Beautiful photos! Shirt, wine, wallpaper (love the wallpaper) all go perfectly together. Makes me want a new top and a glass of red (though I will wait cause it's one 11am!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) Well I won't confess to what time it was when the pictures were taken! The best light is sometimes in the morning, though. I wish I had a nice big window to one side to get that sort of light for photos at home, and yeah, the wallpaper is pretty awesome. Thanks Kristi

      Delete
  5. I love the color - the color of the year didn't thrill me (other than for lipstick!)....maybe yours is a better tone of Marsala. I do for sure cook with Marsala wine though! The top looks amazing on you.

    We are selling the Thread Theory patterns on our site now, so I really need to make up some of them. I've got plans for the henley and the Jedidiah pants for my youngest son - my husband is threatening to model some Comex trunks though!

    I wonder if this top might work in double gauze....hmmmmmm.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Janice, actually the Pantone colour looks a lot browner than my top. Perhaps I'm more of a merlot than a marsala.... I should have opened a few more bottles to get the colour/grape match right! I've seen the camas in some woven fabrics and it can look great. There's a lovely gold silk one that I found online. You'd only need to check the sleeve width as that's the part that could require some stretch. Go for it!

      Delete
  6. That last photo is fantastic! What a fun uncle to have! So strong! Love it!

    And you are too cute with your glass of wine. Great top, fantastic color. This seems like such a wearable pattern. The plunging neckline is very flattering although I'd definitely have to watch how deep it plunges if I plan to wear the top to work! LOL! I am trying NOT to buy new patterns, though, and I'm currently helped by the fact that my machine is in the shop and I'm stuck with a 1951 straight stitch machine for the next couple weeks. No Camas for me this month ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My kids fail to understand why I can't sit them across my foot then do 360 leg swirls where they end up almost head height. "why not mum, uncle G can?"
      Hope you're having fun with the Grasshopper!

      Delete
  7. Thinking of you this evening as Indigo and I are making puppets from Little Things to Sew. I also want to make the hats, I think. Where was I when you were doing the ultimate epic challenge?!
    You look lovely and your brother reminds me of Dan! Such a stud! ;) Love the wine staging, too. Oh the days when I could drink wine without having to pay so severely the next day. My tolerance is so low and the hangovers are the worst - especially with reds. Even one glass and the next day I feel bad. Boo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a fun thing to do together. I'm sure Hazel will find it hilarious when the big kids play puppets.
      I doubt if it's really true, but I subscribe to the theory that only bad/cheap wine gives me hangovers!

      Delete
  8. What a cute top and I love the wine color!

    ReplyDelete

I get a real kick out of knowing you've visited the blog and love to read comments. Thanks.