This piece uses the same fabric from Fabric.com that I used for the convertible, reversible cardigan tunic. I prefer to tuck in my shirts (long torso) so I decided to use the rest of the fabric to make a reversible pullover. I used flat felled seams and rolled hems onto the striped side just like with the other piece.
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I made this reversible pullover out of the fabric leftover from my reversible, convertible wrap cardigan. It reverses from a mostly space dyed to a mostly solid black. Because it was a remnant, I had to make the back in pieces. If I had it to do over again, I would make the back solid instead of half print, half solid. Although it is more interesting, the piece would be a bit more versatile if it was all print and all solid on the two sides.
So my love of all things reversible and convertible is probably obvious by now. Well, I decided to combine the two! Based on Nic and Zoe's four-way convertible wrap cardigan, I made this lovely number. I used some athletic fabric from Joann's that was reversible (black on one side, space dyed or static pattern on the other) and could pass as professional.
I used a standard cardigan pattern, Butterick 6580, doubled the width of the bottom hem for the front piece and then made front shoulder meet the bottom hem in a diagonal instead of the standard cardigan perpendicular edge. The seams are all flat felled except I used a pintucked seam on armholes. There are hooks on the side seams, one on the outside and one on the inside. The other half of the hooks are on the ends of the wrap front. If you try to make something like this, make sure the hook pieces will line up or match even if it's the standard wrap closure (pictures 5 and 6) or the twist closure (pictures 7 and 8). For the twist, you attach the end of each wrap to the same side whereas for the wrap closure you attach the ends to the opposite sides. So the ends have to have the same part of the hook and the side seams have to have the same part of the hook. Since the solid black can be a bit boring, I decided to have the rolled hems go towards that side so the space dyed pattern would accent. As usual, great for travel given the convertible and reversible aspects. When worn with the wrap closure, the shirt can be tucked in to look like a blouse or worn untucked to look like a cardigan. The front does tend to fall open when worn with wrap closure style and untucked. I'm normally not one for florals but I really needed to make a reversible pullover/blouse for work travel and I found this fabric at Joann's. The floral is tonal and somewhat geometric, both of which I like, so I figured, why not? Try something new.
I used flat felled seams to make sure the seams looked "right" on both sides. I used additional strips of fabric to hem the sleeves and bottom and to finish the neckline. Instead of the same sides together, I put the "wrong side" of the strip against the "right side" of the shirt so when I flipped it to the other side and did a rolled hem, the hem was the same color as that side of the shirt. I also put a pintucked seam on the shoulders for the solid side just to give it a little bit more interest. The solid turned out a little more bland than originally intended. I also made sure to cut the back in such a way that this shirt reverses front/back as well. The "front" is a v-neck while the "back" is crew neck. No matter what type of necklace I bring with me when I travel, I'll be prepared. Welcome to part 4 of my series on how my invisible disability affects my style and fashion. I've talked about clothes, beauty and shoes but wanted to touch on how my pain and immune system disabilities affect my travel style. Reversible, Convertible Clothes: Because I cannot lift or carry anything heavier than a few pounds for more than a few minutes, I make a lot of reversible or convertible clothes so I don't have to pack as much. The Size of My Luggage: I always envy the people with hard suitcases that just make the carry-on limit. I can only have carry-on luggage because most causes of measles and infectious diseases at airports happen at baggage claim. Plus lost luggage sucks. But I can only carry my laptop bag and either a small duffle or preferably a half-size roller bag. Long Torso Means Separates not Dresses: Because my immune problems affect my digestion and my mother refused to get me necessary medical care, my growth was stunted and I ended up with a long torso. But long torsos mean separates instead of dresses and dresses are the best thing for travel. So I have to pack more pieces in smaller luggage. I try to make dresses but the level of adjustments I have to make are frustrating. Since this is likely the last post in this series, I wanted to share some closing thoughts. I don't mean to be all "woe is me". But I also don't want to sugar coat my disabilities and think it's important for others to know about the experience of others. Sometimes it's been fun figuring out how to make new clothes that work with my disabilities instead of feeling like a monster because another pair of pants was too tight/loose and still too tight in the crotch. Learning to make clothes for my unique body, shaped by my disabilities, has helped me realize my body is just fine the way it is and it's not my body's fault that clothes are not made to fit it. And I feel really good when someone compliments a piece of clothing I've made, inspired by my disability needs, and I get to tell them I made it. |
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November 2019
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