A Trio of Teal

So, I've barely begun this blog and I'm already behind in posting.  I made these pieces two weekends ago, but have only today gotten an opportunity to get some photos.  I wanted to make another each of the Sewing Workshop Now and Zen shirts before calling the pattern a TNT.  I had this small stack of fabrics all in the same colorway which were singing out to be used, so I threaded the machines up in teal thread and started cutting fabric.  FIrst up was the Zen in a teal and purple rayon batik.  I don't recall where I got this piece from, but I just love the colors.  On the first version of this shirt, I wasn't completely happy with the placement of the top button loop.  On this version, I played around for a bit with where to place the loop, but couldn't come up with a solution that allowed the double collar to lay more open around the neck without pulling the fabric oddly.  I finally just left the button loop off and that seems to be working so far.

Next up was another Now Shirt.  For this one, I used a piece of teal rayon woven with a basketweave texture.  I don't remember where I acquired this one either.

Finally, I had a piece of RPL ponte knit from Fabric.com (one of their Sophia knits) in a beautiful dark teal color.  For this, I used my version of the Sewing Workshop's new Stella Top, which is a remake/reissue of their older Cowl Top.  I love the cowl neckline on this pattern, but the overly dropped shoulder seam does me no favors.  So I took the cowl neck and morphed it onto the Vogue 8582 Marcy Tilton top (without the side drape).  This gives me a much more wearable top.

I haven't worn any of these pieces yet, but I'm looking forward to incorporating them into my wardrobe.

Next up is to finish a UFO--the seventh piece of the winter 6-PAC that was a sew-a-long over on Stitcher's Guild.  I was supposed to be finished by the end of January, but my motivation on this last piece seems to have been lacking.  But it will be finished in the next day or so, so I can move on to other things.

. . . and Zen

Since I had the pattern out to sew up the Sewing Workshop Now Shirt, I couldn't put it away without making a stab at the Now's companion pattern, the Zen Shirt.  A comparison of the pattern tissues revealed that the basic body and sleeve pieces were essentially identical, with various changes for the differing design elements.  In that regard, the Zen has a double collar (rather than the tube collar of the Now), a back pleat and a covered button placket with a single exposed button and loop closure at the top.  Since the basic bodies were nearly the same,  I traced the same Large through the shoulders and armscyes, extending to an XL through the body as I did for the Now.  I also again shortened the sleeve length.  As designed, the Zen is drafted with a longer length through the body, and I left that as is.  The pattern instructions for both shirts are very good (as is the usual case with Sewing Workshop patterns) and the sewing is fairly simple in execution.  I used a textured rayon from Emma OneSock in a color she called "Cinnamon."

I have to find a better location to photograph things.  We don't have much natural light in our current place, and the interior lights give everything a kind of golden glow--this fabric is slightly less orangey than appears here.

The next time I make the Zen pattern (and I do believe there will be a next time) I will play around with the placement of the upper button loop.  The instructions have you sandwich the loop between the two collars when they are topstitched together.  This placement keeps the collars sitting very close to the neck when buttoned.  I want to see if it is possible to place the loop slightly lower, so as to let the collars spread open just a little bit more than they do.  I think it can be done, with a little strategic hidden hand stitching.