Hey there! I hope 2021 isn’t getting you down too much already, though I realise that’s a pretty big ask… I’m suffering, as usual, from an extreme lack of sewing time, which is one of the reasons I love this top – in over 10 years of sewing, this is the first thing I’ve made (cut & sewed) from start to finish in one day. Everything about the design of Paper Theory’s Kabuki Tee is conducive to cranking it out smartish, which is A Good Thing, in my view.
I’m quite into this top, although I suspect it may be destined for gardening – it isn’t something that really goes with anything in outfit terms. I made it for the sake of making something, really, which isn’t something I do often at all. I have lots of plans for things to sew this year, and lots of lovely gift vouchers to treat myself to some special fabric, but I haven’t sewn anything for a while and I just wanted to get back in the saddle.
I always find re-fashions or scrap sewing particularly good for this, as there’s the extra challenge of making something work with limited materials, but the stakes are also low if I screw up. It’s the perfect mix!
I went through a few fabric combinations before I settled on these three. The main fabric is a handwoven cotton from a sack dress I wore to death when I was pregnant, the stripes are double gauze from a thrifted shirt, and the orange linen is the very, very last scraps of some Merchant & Mills linen I’ve sewn a dress and top from. I had such small scraps of the linen left that I had to piece the sleeve – it’s actually 3 pieces! I wasn’t sure if this would drape evenly, but it’s fine, and one of the seams is a right-angle inset which echoes the sleeves nicely. It’s not obvious, but I know it’s there…
I made a 14, which is the size that matches my measurements. I don’t have much to say about the construction, except, that it’s quick and easy. I reinforced the corners of the right-angle insets with a centimetre or so of topstitching – I think in a solid colour I might topstitch all the way around the sleevehead, but I thought it would detract from the clean contrast between the colours here. I didn’t dare leave the corners without some reinforcement though – you clip right into the seam allowance to make that angle, which always makes me a little nervous. Not that it’s a stress-point on this garment, but machine-washing can pull at any seam and it would be hard to fix if it gave out at that seam corner…
Oh, and I made masks from the scraps (scraps of scraps). I loathe making maks, but I’m also very good at losing them so I thought it would serve the dual purpose of really using all the fabric up, and reducing my stress about finding a mask every time I leave the house.
Obviously maybe I haven’t given it quite a fair chance with the patchwork effect, but I can’t quite decide how much I love the pattern. I mean, I like it, but I don’t know if it’s a shape I feel great in. Maybe in the summer I’ll be more into it – with all the extra ease it’s not something you can really wear a jumper over, which might be what’s bugging me.
But yay, I sewed something, which is nice. I hope you’re getting lots of creative time in, and maybe I’ll see you back here soon!
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cotton city studio 