1 Item Sewn

31 Items Remain

251 Days to Go

The total nerd in me is trying really hard to come up with a logo for my "32 Things" goal, as though this is the kind of thing that wonts for a logo.  "EVERYTHING needs a logo!" the nerd says.  That countdown above does look pretty sad just hanging out up there.  I love logos, what can I say?  Actually, I just love playing what I refer to as "Grown Up Coloring Book".  Basically it's just farting around on Publisher making pretty pictures.

And here you guys are, taking me as I am, bless your lovely hearts. 

I whipped up my tank top last night in near record time -- maybe an hour & no pressing anything, though I don't mind ironing so much anymore due to my fab-o ironing board cover.

The jury is still out on that cover, BTW.  I don't think it causes too many lines when I press anything, but I haven't really ironed since I made it.  A month ago.

So anywhoodle, the tank.  I got a 3/4 yard remnant of this 60" wide gorgeous blue knit, and since it was such a small piece it was in the $1/yard bin.  That means it cost $.75 for this tank -- booyah!  It's wicked synthetic, but I don't care.  It doesn't appear to being pill-prone, and that's all that matters to me.

I used McCall's 5063, which is my go-to pattern for a tank, but that's only because it's the only pattern I've ever used for a tank.  Funny how that works, right?  It may be out of print, but don't bother buying a tank top pattern if you already own a tank top you like.  Just use this great tute from Indie Tutes to create one!  I've used this method before and it's great, especially for something like a tank where you have the stretchy forgiveness of a knit fabric.

Oh, and while I'm 'splaining this, let me specify something that I didn't know for forever.  A knit fabric is stretcy (think sweatpants, yoga pants, underpants -- if it's stretchy, it's a knit).  A woven fabric is not stretchy (think cotton button-up shirts, silk...not stretchy).  I'd always get confused when people said "knit" and "woven" -- I mean, technically can't all fabrics fit under both "knit" and "woven"?  (They actually can't, but how the hell are you supposed to know that when you're just beginning to sew?)  A knit requires a ball-point needle to sew with, while a woven can use a standard needle - the needle's packaging will specify if it's ball-point. 

I like my tanks long so I had to lengthen this pattern piece a lot, about 8".  It hit me right at the waist before lengthening, and I like my tanks to hit me around mid-hip.

The last time I made a tank from this pattern, Benjamin Button had just come out.  I cut along the dotted line (see picture above) and used a Brad Pitt article from Parade (yeah, the one your grandma reads) magazine to lengthen the piece.  I figured it should at least be an entertaining thing to look at... why use plain old paper when I can have Brad Pitt & Dog Jolie-Pitt?

I'm wearing the tank today and I love it.  I think this is a pattern I could encourage newbies to sew, but knits are a savage beast sometimes.  My machine Martha sews them really nicely with nothing special other than a new needle, but my Singer eats them and I get the most wonktastic lines.  Ah well, I'll show you in Sewing 101 and you decide if you don't want to do it.  I will not block the creative flow!  ;)

xoxo,