A Couple of Pennies

Continuing my newfound enjoyment of sewing with knits, I've attempted a different pattern from kitschycoo:  The Penny Pinafore.  It comes with 3 length suggestions and 3 different sleeve lengths.

Since it's winter, I've been making long sleeved tops.  And since it's winter, I've been looking for tunics to wear with leggings.  I like a tunic that goes further than just below the butt.  I don't like looking at people's butts when they wear leggings but pretend they are pants.  In fact, I did a whole post on this a couple of years ago.  Click here to share in my outrage.

So, I planned to make these tunics in a length about 3 inches from the bottom of my butt.

The pink was my first attempt, so I wasn't quite sure how the length would be.  It's OK, but not really where I wanted it.

The brown was meant to be a dress, but there was a terrible fabric layout disaster and it soon became a tunic, of almost the same length as the first one.  There will be many more details about the brown one on Thursday, because it's slightly different from the pink, so I'll just tell you about the pink today.

First of all, it's crushed panne and I will never use it again.  It has a velvet-like texture which means that it has a nap that has to go all the same way or there could be a weird thing happening that would make me crazy all day.

But that's not why I don't like it.  I managed to get it laid out properly and all of the nap goes the right way.

It's got fantastic stretch, which is what drew me to it.

But with that stretch, it also loves to curl the cut edges with the slightest tug, so I spent a lot of time flattening curled edges.  That's what I didn't like about it.

Also, the color is really ridiculous.  In the doldrums of winter in New England, I tend to get sucked into the black and grey in my wardrobe, so I thought a fun, pink tunic with a little texture would be great.

Now I think it will just make me look like a total fruitcake.  Like I need to wear very loud makeup with it and do something silly with my hair,  while thinking I am ultra chic.

And people will want to touch me all day because it looks so soft and touchable.

Fantastic.

If you haven't used any patterns by kitshycoo, you really should explore her options and try one for yourself.  She really 'gets' how important it is to have very clear directions and lots of options.  My favorite thing about her patterns is that she includes very specific pictures within the PDF so for people like me who are very visual, it really makes a big difference.

I hadn't ever printed a pattern on my own printer and pieced it together until I did my first kitschycoo pattern this summer.  I never want to use another tissue paper pattern again!  It's so great to just reprint if I need it and I can make changes without worrying about the original pattern.

She also offers great tips for troubleshooting or making things faster.

Because my sister www.callajaire.com is also a huge fan of these patterns, she has a little plan up her sleeve that will be revealed this week, which is why you need to come back on Thursday.  We're doing something together with very different twists. 

Kitschycoo generously gave me this Penny Pinafore pattern so I could play along with my sister.

Come back tomorrow, when I'll have better pictures, taken in daylight and wearing it so you can see it for yourself.

Linking here:
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2015/01/freedom-fridays-with-all-my-bloggy_15.html
http://www.flamingotoes.com/category/think-pink-sundays/
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/diy/pattern-ear-warmer/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/01/clever-chicks-blog-hop-122-with-chicken.html