The Sorbetto that was late for everything

I love sewalongs! Especially when I can work things so that one project fits the parameters of multiple ones. What can I say, I guess I have a hard time not wanting to participate in All The Things. I mentioned in a recent post that I’d been planning to make a Red Velvet that I could use for both The Monthly Stitch’s birthday sewalong, and the Sewcialists’ Tribute month, and that it didn’t work out. So my plan B was to revisit my original list of things I planned to sew this summer, and make the Colette Sorbetto. My thought process, since I was still in DragonCon prep mode at the time, was pretty much this:

“A lot of cake has flowers on it, so a floral print top would work for cake. Even if they’re daisies and not roses. And I’m sure somebody out there likes Sorbettos enough that I could say this is a tribute to her, right? Right!”

And then I didn’t finish this until yesterday anyway, which makes it too late for both sewalongs. Oh well. I’ll probably throw this one up on TMS anyway.

Oh, right, you probably want to see that shirt, don’t you?

So here it is, in all of its slouchy glory. I’m still not convinced this is a good pattern for me, to be honest. It’s all right when tucked in, though that’s not a look I often go for, and I guess I’m a little stuck on looser top + fitted skirt still = waist definition. But it is pretty comfortable to wear outside, which is good, because September and July seem to have traded places this year! So while I was enjoying mostly that golden range of 70-85 degrees most of the summer, now that it’s unofficially fall, we’re back to 90 degrees and 200% humidity. Go figure.

I did make a couple of changes, which are completely unoriginal, given how long this pattern’s been out. I lowered the darts about 1″, because they were way too high on the original pattern. I’m pretty sure they’re in an ok place now, but the shirt tends to slide forward on me and bring them too low, so it’s hard to say. I also replaced that front pleat with some gathering–I thought that might help it work better with both the pattern and, well, my chest. In that, I do think this was more successful than my last attempt. Finally, I lengthened the pattern as much as the fabric would let me.

Untucked, it just looks like a sack. So while I was considering/planning to bring this on my upcoming France trip, now I’m not so sure.

As for the fabric, it’s a rayon challis that I acquired via a swap with Kat about a year and a half ago. I hadn’t sewn with challis since, oh, the 90s. And I forgot how lovely it can be to work with–which is good, since I have 2 more pieces stashed for dresses! And I guess a year and a half really isn’t all that bad, as far as my stash habits go. I literally still have fabric that I purchased back when I was in college (over a decade now, yikes!), though at least by now, it’s a piece leftover from a finished project.

The time of year pretty much demands that I move on to more fall sewing now. So let’s evaluate how I did with my summer sewing plans overall, shall we?

Tops:

1. A navy daisy-print tank, most likely a slightly modified Sorbetto. See above.
2. A royal blue button-down blouse, from a Burda mag. Not even close to thinking about this one.
3. A navy Archer blouse, which will probably be closer to the fall. I did think about this one, but it obviously didn’t happen.
4. A striped ivory knit tee–hoping to use the Plantain but we’ll see if I have enough fabric. Done, cardigan-style.

Bottoms:

1. Fitted/skinny-ish jeans. Check!
2. Thurlow shorts. Too bad I didn’t have time for these, because I really could have used some shorts that fit for when I was at work, if nothing else. Maybe next year?
3. Solid black Thurlow pants, which I do not currently have fabric for. And I still don’t have fabric for them, but I still should do this sometime. My black RTW pants that I’ve also had since college are finally starting to fall apart!
4. Possibly some black Clover pants– I have fabric that will work, but have not tested this pattern yet. Maybe I should just use that fabric with the Thurlows?
5. If I have time, a Pavlova skirt. I didn’t have time.
6. I also have a plum skirt that I can do a quick refashion of to make it a better skirt. Maybe this fall?

Dresses:

1. A navy/ivory Cambie  Done!
2.  A plum/yellow/royal/white Darling Ranges. I’m bumping this one to my fall plans.
3. A yellow/white/turquoise Reglisse dress. Part of me is tempted to say I want to make this in October, since The Monthly Stitch is using that pattern as one of their Frocktober contest ones, but the colors are just sooooo summery. I dunno.
4. A plum/green/white/ knit Tiramisu maxi-dress Done!
5. A black tank knit maxidress, from McCall’s 6559. Done, though shorter than planned.

Layering pieces: Honestly, I didn’t touch this category.

1. a 3/4 sleeve jacket, from the ivory/black embroidered twill I got at Mood and Simplicity 4491 (which I’ll modify to shorten and cuff the sleeves.)
2. An ivory Carmine shrug.
3.  a yellow knitted cardigan, which I already have yarn and a pattern for, but starting it will have to wait until I finish my grey cardigan. Considering I haven’t even finished my Roheline cardigan yet, this was a definite no-go.

So all in all, I had 18 things on my list, only made 6 of them, but also made about 6 things that weren’t on this list at all for DragonCon. Plus that Kimono tee from the maxi-dress leftovers, and a couple of refashions. So I guess that isn’t too bad for this summer!

Next post: FESA plans!! Did I mention I love sewalongs? But for now, I’ll leave you with my “smug model” photo. Because I can. And this particular picture makes me think that maybe tucking in a looser top could actually work on me. Maybe.