Monday, August 23, 2010

Tailored Shirts

After creating that skirt that didn't go so well, I haven't done any sewing - just mending. Which, I'd like to brag, that I'm pretty darned good at doing. I needed to repair the rear vent on a skirt and I sewed it so that you would never know it was repaired. Of course, I made an effort to do that - unlike the third repair I made on my favorite sweater. 

I have a black cashmere cardigan (crew neck) that I wear all the time. I shouldn't wear it all the time, though, because it's just got too far gone. It had a small hole in the elbow and I did a great job repairing that, but it has worn out so much that it's beyond repair at this point. I grabbed it once this winter, forgetting that I really have no business wearing it in public and when I got to work, remembered there was a hole. I ended up stapling it and then taping (with clear tape) the staples so they wouldn't rub. You can't see the hole, or the staples for that matter, but when I feel all the hub-bub in the elbow, I have to chuckle. I have got to stop wearing it. 

My sewing creativity has been stymied and I've been a bit distracted until I had my Eureka! moment. What I would like to sew  are tailored shirts. I have a hard time finding button-downs that fit me properly and I think after my surgery I'm going to be wearing longer sleeves. I'd really love to make something that I can wear that will fit the way it's supposed to, without having to drudge my way through stores looking for the impossible or falling back on knits. 

Now that I have the idea spark, I'm on my way to a new project. I'll keep you posted!

3 comments:

hokgardner said...

My cousin-in-law has a hard time finding tailored shirts that fit. So on her last business trip to Beijing, she talked one of her coworkers who lives there into taking her to the clothing district. She ended up with dozens of beautiful shirts made to order for next to nothing - not counting the cost of the plane flight, that is.

ckh said...

I'm jealous. I think they would be the simplest thing to wear if they fit. Instead, I try to make a nice t-shirt look like I'm not really wearing a t-shirt to work.

i love lamp said...

That's brilliant! Why not become an expert at sewing what you have the most trouble finding off the rack? Unless you want to try the travel thing, I'm game!

We're thinking about you here... excited to have this surgery done and you perfectly well soon (and visiting? :)