a little inspiration

 Another successful Big Clothes, Small Clothes garment!  I made the muslin for these last summer after looking at the Tessuti blog about them and obsessing.  They weren't quite perfect and I felt unequal to the challenge of adjusting them (the problem was in the bum.  It is hard to see your bum in the garment and make adjustments without twisting and causing more problems.)  This year, I've gained a little weight, and when I finally decided to give it a go, the muslin fit pretty perfectly.   I'd seen them made in different printed fabrics and I felt like that might hide imperfections in the fit.  The volume of these pants is what drew me in, but I already feel self-conscious about having short, round legs.  Our relationships with our bodies are complicated.  While sewing gives us a certain amount of freedom, it also forces us to look at how our bodies don't fit pattern blocks.  Anyway- I digress, but this is a thing I know we are a...

       I've made a number of garments from the book Big Clothes, Small Clothes  and I have loved each one (okay, except the elastic waist pants, those were a disaster on me.) Lately, I have been obsessed with the shirt dress from Alex Mill but it is outside my budget by about $160.  And I knew I could make something similar enough.      I had already made the "I" pattern and knew I liked it.  The sleeve structure of the I is closer to the sleeve structure on the inspiration but I didn't want the added width for this version.  Going with size 1 of the (little) "i" pattern gave me a better fit at the shoulder.  I added a slash and spread to give me about 7 more inches at the hem (and 4-5 at the hip) and extended it to the length in the description from the inspiration dress. Unfourtunatly, I'm short as hell, so I chopped two inches off the front at the end.  I didn't bother with the pocket or even buttons because I knew I wo...