Gray and Black Lace Tank

Today has been a long day, but oddly enough, not much has gotten done in the way of “final” products. I’ve made most of an underbust corset, gone to the fabric store for supplies for a project I’m doing for my aunt, bought metal eyelets, and knitted. However, it wasn’t until a few minutes ago that I got around to making my Item Of The Day. I was struggling for inspiration, you see.

Finally, it struck when I found a bunch of gray knit jersey left over from an ill-advised dressmaking project. (Where does all this stuff come from?? Did I sew a lot more than I remember as a child?) It was kind of a mess, all bunchy and tangled, but I managed to get it into some semblance of order:

After that, I spent some time doodling ideas, at least one of which will become another shirt.

I think I want to make the cloud one; it’s a little cutesy, but I did just make a shirt with an anchor applique. Clearly, being cheesy is not my biggest fear any longer. But I also like the idea of making a gray tank top with cutouts that show orange tulle underneath. Perhaps in the shape of an orange.

After some cutting, some sewing, and some swearing, here’s the final shirt:

This picture tells you a couple of things. First, that I’m tired; I’ve been up for quite a while. Second, that this shirt is too small for me; I used another shirt as a template and this fabric wasn’t as stretchy. This shirt goes straight into the shop. Which is a shame, because I rather like it. Maybe I’ll make a bigger one out of the leftovers…

Tanks!

So I’ve been in a kind of lightweight summery tank mood lately, and this is what’s come out of it so far. I’m finally daring to work in knitted fabrics, realizing that stretchiness is fun.

This is the first one:

Why, yes, I do look spiffy. Let’s stare off into the distance, shall we?

I made this out of a piece of fabric I found in my basement, left over from an ill-advised project I did when I was 15 or 16. I didn’t really know much about sewing then; I always learn by jumping in, making a lot of crap, and then later regretting ruining so many materials. Luckily I didn’t use up all this purple; there was just enough for an asymmetrical shirt with knot detail. Total cost for this project? $0.

This second one was made out of an oversized gray t-shirt. Using a tank top as a pattern I cut it down to size, and then I just stuck crap on there. I’m not completely happy with this one; it feels like there’s not enough going on. I want there to be a third element, like a cluster of black shiny things covering the non-lace end of the chain, or maybe a skull-and-crossbones button, or SOMETHING. Total cost for this shirt? $3, for the chain. Lace and t-shirt were both found in my basement.

From this…(The t-shirt is underneath, just fyi.)

…to this.

I’m also thinking it’s time to go into business, because I kind of like this new batch of things. I also just tried a new cheap-ass screenprinting technique that I’m loving (non-toxic mod podge and leftover sheer fabric, hooray!) and I think I could easily print t-shirt designs that are way more complicated than my previous stencilling technique allowed. The results of that experiment in tomorrow’s post.