Ah, Superbuzzy. How I love thee. And how dangerous you are to my (not growing very fast) Paypal account. Sigh. I fully drained my account with last weeks big update over there. Good stuff. Soooo much good stuff. And I had no idea that the red kerchief girl (link is to PINK kerchief girl. Red is sold out - read on) would be so fabulous until it arrived here. One eensy little half yard of it's goodness. I used every little scrap of that half yard about two hours after it arrived in the mail (just enough time to wash and dry it...barely). And then I promptly hopped on over to purchase a wee bit more ("but the paypal account is drained?" you might ask. Um, that would be the 'household' account I dipped into. Bills, schmills. I've got red kerchief girl fabric to buy. Priorities, please).
I took that new favorite fabric and put it to use on a pattern from my new favorite pattern book. I'm not alone in my love for Girly Style Wardrobe - Amy shared some photos and thoughts last week. It really is fabulous. I have a copy on loan from a friend, and I'm soaking up every single minute of that loan, studying all of the patterns in hopes that I'll remember them when the book is gone. In a very risky move, I cut right on into my new favorite fabric to try out the pattern above. Who has time for muslin, I ask? (I know, I know...one of these days I'm going to pay dearly for my impatience).
Miraculously (rather, unbelievably), it worked. My version ended up with some pleating at the shoulders (to avoid a sagging neck that was happening), which the pattern does not. Otherwise, it's pretty true to the pattern, except of course, that I couldn't actually read the pattern. This is the first time I've tried to precisely follow a pattern from a Japanese craft book instead of just using it as inspiration. I may be cursing myself by saying this - but I thought it was really fun - kind of like putting a puzzle together. Of course, I can say that because in the end it all worked out. (This time.) Edited to add: Jennifer, of moving hands, just put up a great informational post about sewing with Japanese patterns.
favorite fabric + favorite pattern book + favorite girl = happiness.
