Impulse Projects

Now, these two new projects of mine don't have a lot in common, I grant you. One is worn on bottom, the other on the top. One is made from woven fabric and the other is from stretch/jersey. So why am I posting about them together? Well, two reasons: 1) I'm trying to catch up with all the things I have lined up to blog about, and 2) they are both impulse projects.

By impulse projects, I mean that I didn't plan on making them that day. In fact, I started making them the split second I had the idea for them. You know those annoying times when you have a pile of fabric and a pile of patterns but somehow they just don't seem to provide a suitable combination for a new creation? Well, I'm talking about the opposite occurance, where the fabric and pattern scream at you and demand to be made THAT INSTANT. I'm not saying that this is a regular event, it's as rare as my boyfriend doing the hoovering unsolicited (i.e, about once every three months. Don't worry, he's stopped reading my blog which is why I can get away with comments like that). But a couple of these occurances have cropped up on me very recently so I'd best get explaining myself.

The first on the agenda is this natty high-waisted skirt of a particularly nautical persuasion. This impulse creation was actually part of a small run I made at work. Normally my boss makes the decisions of what gets made that week from the donated fabrics and garments we receive, because we have very little time to spend on the design process and she is a much more inventive designer with a better grasp on our customer base than I. My design input tends to come in the form of suggestions for details and adaptions, though occassionally I do have an idea of some garments to make which I 'pitch' to her and usually get accepted, which is what happened in this case. The stripey twill came in, I remembered some leather cut out anchors we got some work experience kid to do ages ago, and a design was born. As I might have explained in the past, if I am in love with a particular style and there is sufficient fabric as to not limit the number I'm making for the range, I am allowed to cut an extra one for myself. It's a little perk of the job, which isn't very well paid so the odd garments here and there is a welcome form of payment! PLUS we are representing our brand by rocking the garms, no?

Now, I'm not a pastel kind of girl, but my gut was telling me I could rock this colour as it should sit well with the navy and red elements in my current wardrobe. Plus I had a spare navy leather anchor already cut out and sitting in my stash I was planning on using for a bag project but never got round to using. That's how into nautical stuff I am, I have spare anchor details cut out and ready to go!

So, I made it up, using my lunch break to stitch on the leather bit as that takes ages and I didn't want to be cheeky and do the time-consuming bit on the clock. It's got a simple back slit to allow for movement, and a zip with exposed zip teeth (this is the method I use for most of the zips I put into skirts and shorts for work because I find it's the quickest). I'm actually really proud of this garment because I've made it with the cleanest finish I know I am currently capable of. That is in part massive thanks to the lovely, well behaved twill fabric, also because I concentrated my arse off and wanted to do a good job. My only gripe is that it came out maybe two inches shorter than I would have preferred. Unfortunately, there's no hem allowance to take down to correct this, but it's more than wearable as it is. I was kind of thinking it might look cute to run with the anchor theme and pair it with my ship shape navy blouse:

The second impulse creation wasn't part of our range. The fabric is some incredibly silky slinky jersey in a difficult-to-describe mustard/yellow/gold colour. I have a massive thing for mustard/yellow shades so absorbed this fabric into my stash through some form of osmosis, as I don't recall taking it. It was little more than a bunch of scraps, no longer useful for our range, so taking it from the work fabric stores wasn't as naughty as it sounds! But since its absortion, it had been sitting in my stash for months crying out to be busted.

I already had a couple of projects on the go at work (I tend to have separate sewing projects on underway at work than the ones I have on the go at home) but this was screaming to be made into a scoop-neck, gathered sleeve top instead. I had the pattern pieces so I cut it out during my lunch break and stitched it together at the end of the day. Cutting it out was no easy task as there was very little of the fabric left, therefore it has short sleeves and is slightly shorter in length than I would usually go for. The fabric is really fine, so I simply left the sleeves and hem edges overlocked rather than than overlocking then turning and stitching to finish them as I would normally. I harvested a tiny thin strip of the fabric to use as neck binding. The entire construction was completed on the overlocker, making this lightening fast to construct. The result is quite a skimpy little top, which will push my comfort levels when wearing (bit conscious of my belly!) but I'll give it a whirl.

I did think it might go with my massive flower mini skirt which is threatening to be a lonely wardrobe-orphan, if the world can handle that much of my flesh and form at one time!

Have you had any impulse project experiences, where the elements suddenly came together and demanded action? Were you pleased with the results?