Fabulous at 40

Were I to have a motto, this shall be my motto for the next year.

As I am turning 40 today.

Forty.  Ugh.

Insomuch as I have chosen this new motto…one must have new clothes!

I spent the better part of Sunday doing some selfish sewing for myself.  I made:

• 2 pairs of fleece lounge pants, so as not to freeze as it was cold enough that I’m sure some vestiges of Hell were starting to get a bit frosty.  Okay, not quite, BUT it is below normal, below zero freezing for early December.  SUUUUCCCCKKKKSSS!
• 1 lycra comfy dress.  I elongated a knit shirt pattern and added a cowl neckline.  Pretty easy.
• 1 cross-front poly-lycra top from panel fabric.
• 1 simple flocked chiffon shirt.
• Almost one infinity type scarf.  I need some snaps yet to finish it off, which means I need to get to a fabric store that has them.  That means Jo-ann’s most likely and I don’t get over there all that often.  I will have a tutorial when I finally get it done, though!

Here is some of that sewing…

The lounge pants.

Not really exciting.  Self-drafted.  I did the waist like a pair of men’s lounge pants I have that I wear quite often (men’s lounge pants = not several inches too short on me).  They are comfy and cozy and entirely not flattering.  This is why you will not see a picture of me wearing them.  I look entirely not flattering when I get home and put on my comfy clothes.  Not so fabulous, but comfy.  And warm.

The Animal Print Dress.

Not sure what animal this particular design is supposed to be, but I’m quite certain it is extinct.  Or never was.  Regardless, it is a very comfy dress!  Not the most flattering, but I have a hard time with dresses.  When you are built like a rectangle, and aren’t a waif, it is hard to wear dresses.  I think it would look better with a blazer over it, but FREEZING OUTSIDE.  A sweater was needed.

To make this dress, I started with a basic long sleeved top.  I added a cowl neck to the front pattern.  Here is a tutorial I found online for adjusting patterns for a cowl.  I placed the pattern draft up against another dress I owned, and added the length to make them the same length (adjusted for a hem).  I did that for both the front and the back.

Cross-front Asian-y looking top.

This is what the fabric looked like and how I laid it out for some of the cutting:

Obviously, I am a bit loosey-goosey with not staying on grain at all times.  It is 4-way stretch, so whatever.  I wanted it to look like this when worn, so there you go.  Breaking alllllll the rules!  There was much waste with this cutting, which I don’t like to do normally.  I really didn’t have a clue what else to do with this fabric, though.  I really liked the design, so I went for it.  Oh, and I apparently cut it upside down.  I noticed there was an upside down way after cutting, but at least I cut both the front and the back upside down.  All is consistent, therefore, right in the world.

I think these tops are really flattering, so I shall make more of them.  I have a tutorial for a short sleeved version, if you are interested.

Now, since I have my birthday off of work, I shall go sew some more good stuff for moi.