Tribute Month is quickly winding down and here’s one final post.  It was so difficult selecting one person for a tribute.  I’m so thirsty for knowledge and inspiration and I find it from so many AWESOME sewists … how could I choose?  My first tribute was to Amy at Sew Well. 

This tribute is for Carolyn @ Diary of a Sewing Fanatic.  I’ve been following Carolyn’s blog for a little over a year.  I found her while I was looking for sewing resources online. 

She is so relatable and we have a few things in common …personally.  She works in a corporate environment like I do, so I can understand when she’s super busy in the office.  She loves family time.  And she’s a big fan of Scandal.  Seriously, who doesn’t love Olivia Pope?

My favorite thing about Carolyn is that she has a gift … she takes a fairly straight forward pattern and makes it special.  Her fabric choices are amazing.  It was through Carolyn that I began to examine my fabric choices and I learned that fabric quality is a big factor in how my finished garment comes out.  Carolyn loves fabric … beautiful, fine hand, luxe fabric.  And her eye for beautiful fabric and how it should be handled to make something that I can be proud of is something I really appreciate about her blog.

It was though Carolyn’s influence that I ordered a border print cotton lawn last year but really didn’t have the guts to tackle it until now.  What a difference a year makes!  My tribute to Carolyn @ Diary of a Sewing Fanatic … McCall’s 6926. 

When I saw this pattern I thought it would be fun to play with this border print.  I knew if I was making a tribute to Carolyn it would have to be good.  Having never worked with a border print before, I went in with no expectations … other than I was a little afraid.  I really shouldn’t have been though.  It did take some careful planning, and I had to be thoughtful in my approach, but the end result was worth it.

I wanted to take full advantage of the black/gray/white border and use it at the bottom of the top.  I also wanted to somehow tie it in at the yoke and sleeves.  It took me about three hours to cut out the top with two errors.  The first being the yoke front and back.

If you compare the yoke in the final top you’ll see that I had a lot less of the black/gray/white in my initial cut (pictured above).  This would have easily matched the bottom of the yoke front with the top front of the bodice.  With this version I didn’t feel I was getting enough of that bold color combination. 

The second problem was with the sleeves.  I actually cut them upside down the first time around.  Whhaa!!  Even if that yoke would have worked … the sleeves would not have. 

My decision to cut the yoke with more of the black/gray/white led to another problem … getting print to match at the front and back seamline.  Easier said than done.  I struggled with this for a few hours.  Pacing in front of my sewing table.  Watching an episode of Game of Thrones.  I then decided to go through my notions box to see if anything struck me.  In that box I found the trim that goes across the front and back seamlines.  The trim breaks up where the pattern doesn’t match exactly.  Initially this bothered me but once I added it, the more I like it.

 I made version B of the pattern which calls for elastic around the bottom of the hemline.  I elected to eliminate it.  Seriously … I don’t need anything else to highlight the width of my hips. And I like the way it drapes without the elastic. 

 If you’ve ever been out on Diary of a Sewing Fanatic you know that Carolyn beautifully finishes her garments.  So, I was inspired to finish the neck and arm facings by hand.  Though this was time-consuming.  It was worth every minute of it.  The neck and arm facings are so flat and are perfect against the body.  Really nice. 

Overall, I love Carolyn’s blog, Diary of a Sewing Fanatic.  If you haven’t spent any time with her, please do.  I one day hope to have a TNT pattern like Carolyn does and be able to bust out corporate attire just like she does.  Fingers crossed!

Two days.  Two posts.  Two Tributes.  Bye, Bye August!  Hello September!  Stay tuned for my next adventure!!  (By the way yellow nails … purely coincidence!)