SURPRISE SURPRISE, a shirt made in a leopard print fabric. A comfy one at that. And paired with my black Ginger Jeans or black Oh La Leggings = an outfit that I am feelin.

Piper is part of the Christine Haynes pattern line. She recently started releasing pdf patterns under the Chop Chop collection, which are quick and easy project in a day sort of sewing adventures. So far she has released the Rumi Tank/Dress and Piper. I am a total deadbeat and haven't blogged about the Rumi workout tank that I made and wear on a regular basis (cool story: I was running on the treadmill at the gym and a lady came up to me and said she loved it so much and wanted to know where I bought it 😎), but I'm making a point to blog about Piper because I love it so.


Let me tell you a story. A story about how a person named Erin Fosmire would order knit fabrics online, only to receive them and realize that they weren't quite what she was expecting. She would then fold them up and put them in a storage bin (after pre-washing, or course!) and pray that someday she would find a use for the fabric. It was described on Mood's website as "black and brown leopard print rayon jersey" and I planned on making a long sleeve shirt. Well, what I received was not what I was expecting and would be uncomfortable for a long sleeve shirt, as the fabric was thick and felt almost like a ponte. I'm never going to send back a leopard print fabric, so I stashed it away until it decided to become this Piper top. The end. I love stories with happy endings.

Construction is simple, instructions get a thumbs up (👍👍), and the pattern fit is good. The instructions for the Chop Chop line are a little different from Christine's usual pdf patterns because they don't include diagrams/illustrations, they include photographs. Currently, I get all my pdf patterns printed in black and white at the copy shop, so ink/toner wise it doesn't make a difference to me, but just a heads up for those of you who do print at home.

The funnel neck is cute, not too turtleneck esque, and super easy to attach. I serged my seams, zig zagged the hems, and made this thing pretty quickly. I didn't make any adjustments, but on my next version I am going to do a narrow shoulder adjustment (my usual adjustment). Honestly, the whole pattern is an easy one to make, so I don't have any "look out" tips or construction advice. Just follow the pattern, you're in good hands. Stoked, will sew again, power seller, fast e-mailer, A+++, etc. Now, I just need to make a black one and my life will be 3745692345623 times better.

I think last year was the first year I officially participated in Me Made May. After completing a month of wearing something handmade everyday, it solidified what I already knew: I need more separates in my life. I've said it fifty thousand times, but my work environment is casual. Like jeans and t-shirt causal. And if I wore a dress?? Lolololol forget about it. So this month I am going to focus on sewing some easy knit shirts and garments that can be worn to my 9-5 and I will share about them here. Technically these weren't sewn in May, but I am just getting around to posting them now. My blog, my rules, okkkkkk?


A couple of months ago I made my first Closet Case Patterns Ebony Tee in a mustardy greenish bamboo knit from Michael Levine. I guess this technically isn't the tee, it's the raglan tunic.  Moving on. I LOVE it.


Construction wise it's super straightforward. If you've made a knit shirt before then this will be a quick and easy sewing project. It has the simplicity of a basic knit tee, but is slightly dressier, at least in my opinion. Directions are clear, diagrams are great, and I couldn't find anything confusing at all.


I sewed as much as I could with my serger (God, I love that thing) and used a zig zag stitch for the top stitching and hemming. I don't know what it is, but I don't like using a twin needle and am totally fine with a zig zag. I don't like having to use two spools of thread. I don't like fiddling with the tension to try and avoid tunneling. It's not worth it (IMO), especially when I like the look of the zig zag stitch. That said, I'll probably get addicted to twin needles in a couple of weeks. Apparently, I like to declare things and then change my mind 😏


So, I needed another Ebony in my life and I made this one, as you can see. It is also  a bamboo knit from Michael Levine. I got both fabrics last year and hoarded them for the perfect unknown project, my future Ebony tops. These are going to rule when it's super hot out. My first summer sewing projects of 2017, CHECK. Now, let me go make no sense at all and work on knitting some wool socks 😹

Can you guys tell that I am a fan of neutrals? 😹😹😹 All joking aside, I do love me some black clothing, but you all know by now that I'm into really bright fabrics too, right? And bright psychedelic butterfly fabric sent to me from Britex Fabrics, CHECK!!!


Have I sewn with silk crepe de chine before? I don't think I have, but now I am a fan. It was a lot easier to prep, cut, and sew in comparison to the silk chiffon I sewed with at the end of last year. Way less slippery too, which I am not complaining about. And because it wasn't super sheer I got away with serging the raw edges instead of French seams. Again, not mad about that!


The shirt is the SBCC Gibson Blouse, a pattern I bought that has been chillin on my bookshelf for a while, waiting to be used. I think I always write this when I blog about SBCC, but man, I am such a huge fan of Betsy's stuff. With most patterns that require a woven fabric I end up doing some sort of narrow shoulder adjustment paired with an FBA or grade between sizes, and sometimes I end up doing all of the above so the garment will work with my narrow shoulders. As a petite, and SBCC is geared towards petites, it is sooooo nice to not have to make these adjustments and have the sleeves fit well and not dig into my armpits or feel weird. That said, I didn't make a single fit adjustment to the pattern and I like how it turned out. And if I do need to make any shoulder adjustments in the future I am going to do it Betsy's way. She just posted an awesome tutorial that I am dying to try. Bring on the shoulder adjustments!

Construction of Gibson went pretty smoothly. I'm glad I made a wearable muslin first because it made sewing my final version straightforward. On the muslin I did do some head scratching when it came to which seam allowances to use since there are a few options, but in the end it all worked out.


Gathers, gathers, gathers. This psychedelic silk butterfly fabric may not be the best for displaying the sewing details in this garment, but I wanted to make this pattern and fabric combo happen. They're there on the bodice front, sleeves, and back of the shirt, I promise! If you'd like to see how I gather fabric then check out this post I wrote for Britex.

For the hem and sleeves I didn't follow the suggested method of folding and stitching and did a roll hem instead by following Grainline's tutorial. I think it looks a little cleaner and it actually ended up being easier to sew too.

Before I wrap this up I just want to thank everyone who commented on my last post about my Grandma. I got a lot of really sweet and thoughtful text messages, comments, messages online, and a very nice card from Sonja. We all have busy lives and the fact that so many of you took time out of your day to send me encouragement and kind words really means so much to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. xoxox

Also, this garment has a very special meaning to me in regards to my Grandma. If you ever meet me in person and want to grab a drink I will tell you all about it.