*saxophone solo*

Here it is at long last - Jennie's completed halter top!

This version has two straps which tie at the back of the neck, instead of one complete band. It's also faced instead of hemmed along the top edge - I didn't want the inside of the fabric to be visible on the straps.

As you can see, there's also a lacing detail at the front.
I didn't use eyelets, because they'll only pop out of stretchy fabric. The centre front is reinforced with a double line of stitching, and the laces were sewn directly through both layers of fabric using a large leather needle.

I'm really, really pleased with this one - although a little sad that I couldn't get hold of any more of this fabric!

Jennie's Halter Top

I haven't done much sewing for about a week, thanks entirely to a horrible lurgy which has left me barking like a sealion and generally feeling sorry for myself. Today I was supposed to be at work, but I'm still coughing and losing my voice. I did feel up to doing something a little more strenuous than fiddling with the website though, so I've made a top.

This one's for Jennie - she saw the Pink Panther dress and asked whether I could make a top for her, from the leftover fabric. The answer was yes, but I wanted to make a mock-up before I took the scissors to the real thing.

This is now in the post, winging its way up the country for Jennie to try on, and give me some feedback on the fit and style.

Magic Roundabout and the Pink Panther

I'm currently stalled on all of my customer sewing projects (waiting for mock-ups, measurements and returns from Foreign Climes), so I decided I could afford to take a second day to do a bit of sewing for myself. I've hemmed three pairs of trousers which have been trailing on the floor since September, and I've made some alterations to the Magic Roundabout tunic. I've also made a new one, from the Pink Panther fabric that I bought on Ebay last year.

You've seen the Magic Roundabout tunic before - it started life as Simplicity 3835. Since then it's had the neckband replaced with piping, but that was still too tight. Today I removed the piping, took out the back zip which wasn't really needed, and changed the neckline. I didn't want to make the neck lower, as that would have cut into the roundabout print. Instead I changed the gathering, to make the neckline wider. It's edged with white bias binding.

I've been looking forward to making the Pink Panther tunic for ages, and I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out. I think it will look fabulous with my black silk trousers and fluorescent pink Doc Martens! Unfortunately there are some problems with the fabric, so I'm not certain that I'll be able to wear it more than once.

When I bought the fabric on Ebay, it was described as "100% cotton". I was expecting a woven fabric, but it turned out instead to be a jersey, and definitely not 100% cotton. This wasn't a problem - this style of dress works well in a jersey fabric, and I simply adapted the pattern so that both the front and back were cut on a fold.

Unfortunately, when I came to iron the fabric, I discovered two problems. One - it smells! It's definitely come from a house where somebody smokes. I wasn't too worried, as I knew that the smell would come out when the fabric was washed. That was until I sprayed the fabric with water as I ironed it, and discovered that parts of the fabric aren't colourfast! The black background doesn't seem to have been fixed properly, and the colour has already started to bleed very slightly into some of the pink spots.

I'm planning on running it through the washing machine with some kind of colour-run-removing product, and keeping my fingers crossed that the whole thing doesn't come out grey. It would be a real shame if this dress was ruined in its first wash - I really love the Pink Panther print!