purlsandmurmers: 1+1 = 1

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

1+1 = 1

I finally started to tackle the pile of things that I thought had potential after the closet clean-out.

First up: two identical light gray cotton turtlenecks. They are a basic, kind of beefy, cotton knit. I love the color, the softness of the fabric and the weight, but the turtlenecks themselves had some problems. First of all the sleeves have shrunk over time and are too short. Secondly the tops are two short and they are a bit on the boxy side. They must be several years old, back when 21" tops were more fashionable, and I can't wear them with jeans unless I wear some kind of under-layer. Wait, the turtlenecks are supposed to be my under-layer.

I couldn't get a photo without a cat, so this is the best I could do. At least the cat wasn't lying on the top, hiding it from view.

Basically the plan was to cut off the turtleneck and make a lower scoop neckline. I also needed to lengthen the turtleneck so the second top was being used for fabric to extend the length of the first top.

I found a top whose neckline I liked and traced that to the gray fabric with chalk. I also traced a bit of shaping into the side seams as the old turtlenecks were a little bit too big and boxy. I did not do anything to the shoulders or sleeves, other than shorten the sleeve just a wee tad to make them more manageable pushed up to the elbow.

At first I had hoped this would go with Mine, but it is too light of a shade, and the fabric is too heavy and casual. I also thought I would make a wide neckband on the new top, but as I started thinking about the top and what I would actually wear it with, I realized that I wanted a fairly long top, something like tunic length, and if I cut off that much fabric from the spare turtleneck, I would not have enough to cut the matching pieces for a faced wide neckline, so I opted for a simple narrow band at the neck.

I just cut the hem off the first top, since I was going to be lengthening it anyway, and as I did so I realized that the sewn up hem band would be perfect for my neckline. Then I measured and cut the bottom off the second turtleneck to increase the length on the finished top.

It is not perfect but I like this a lot and will wear it, which is more than I can say about the original turtlenecks, which had lived beyond their usefulness. It is a little loose through the upper chest but it is manageable. I also made it longer than I originally intended; I don't really know what I was thinking when I cut the top but I suppose I am happy that I didn't cut it too short. I considered taking the bottom piece off and sewing it up again, but decided against that. I think I like this just the way it is.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 in refashion | Permalink