Giving "Barb" another go.

After a lengthy break from sewing I am back. I rested on my laurels for a bit after my successful jacket and then couldn't quite make up my mind what to do next. While I was still deciding I had cataract surgery for my left eye in September. After a week or two getting used to being able to see more clearly I started going through my patterns and fabric trying to settle on something. So much stash, so many decisions. Dither, dither.

First off I tried Style Arc Skye woven top as a muslin. I used a piece of white Damask tablecloth material I bought cheaply from Spotlight eons ago as it had a small flaw. It was 1 metre by 240cm wide which was ample for this pattern. Because I find it very difficult to just throw something together it was finished with the overlocker and all the facings understitched etc. etc. (I was hoping it would be a wearable muslin).

Excuse the wrinkles

When I tried it on I was not impressed so I tossed it aside in disgust. However a few days later I had another look at it and decided it wasn't as bad as I had originally thought. If I make it again in future it will need a forward shoulder adjustment, softer fabric and the neckline lowered a little in front. Well it was only a muslin after all and it might soften up after washing. Meanwhile it is loose and should be cool on a hot day at home.

The MAGAM theme for October is "ONE" so next I dragged out the Aubergine Bengaline I purchased from Style Arc as a pattern and fabric bundle. The pattern is for their Margaret Pants, but I mainly bought it to get the Bengaline and chose to make another pair of  Style Arc Barb pants instead. I first made these in 2014 in some stretch gabardine which didn't stretch very much and didn't get much wear. In fact they were most uncomfortable to wear and finished up in the charity bag.

This time, I extended the back crotch seam to match the seam on the Linda pants which I have made twice and love. That plus the fact that the Bengaline has more stretch was the perfect answer. I added a little more to the waistband length to accommodate my lack of waist but that turned out not to be necessary as the Bengaline is quite stretchy so I took the extra out again.

The final result is quite acceptable.  I need to tighten the elastic in the waist perhaps, but I wore them to lunch on my birthday and they were very comfortable. The colour was called Aubergine but it looks more like a very dark burgundy in real life.

 While I'm using Style Arc Patterns I thought my next item might be a pair of Amanda shorts in Stone Bengaline. I bought this from Style Arc last months and got 2 metres and after I have made the shorts there should be enough left for another pair of pants. That's the plan anyhow. I downloaded the pattern from Style Arc's etsy site and I have taped it together and cut it out. That is as far as I have got.

I had my right eye cataract done last week so I'm hoping things will be a lot clearer from now on. It's amazing how different colours are now.