One Pattern, Many Looks via CationDesigns

I was going to enter the PR contest "One Pattern, Many Looks" with my new Sewaholic Alma pattern, but then realized that I don't immediately need 4 quasi-similar blouses in my wardrobe. Apparently I DO need multiple dolman sleeve tops (pattern courtesy of Cation Designs). Unfortunately, these don't apply to the contest since I made them all last year, but I wanted to publicly thank Cindy for her really useful and easy (and free) pattern.




This stripe version was my first attempt, and I think I remember putting in the neck band 3 times to get the size right. It's still not perfect, but IS perfectly comfortable. Apparently I feel the most sassy wearing this one.



This red sweatshirt version began it's life as a thrift store purchase. Coincidentally, I had the perfect match in ribbing in my stash from a bunch of sports wear fabric my mother-in-law gave me. As you can see, I still hadn't gotten the hang of the neck band thing yet.

This rust version is probably my most successful. The fabric was purchased for one of my Lekala makes (not blogged about yet, but it's coming), and there was enough left to squeeze out this top. This knit was wonderful to work with, and it has become very useful in my day-to-day wardrobe.

This last version was made for my work Christmas party. I don't really like it. I LOVED the lace remnant when I bought it, and was looking at making a peplum top for the holidays. Unfortunately, when making my wearable muslin (still not finished and will blog about that in future), I realized that the remnant was too small for a peplum. I barely had enough for the top I did make—using the selvage for the neck binding. I still ran out. I underlined it with a really nice black knit lining I bought especially for this top and ended up using it for the bottom band.

The end result is a really heavy top that looks cheap. I should have left it unlined and worn a black tank under it. So disappointed.

A close up of the stretch lace: 

It is a really great olive-gold colour with a sparkly sheen to it. I liked it because it was shiny enough to say "holidays", but I could still wear it under a black blazer for every day.

Anywho's since I now have the Sewaholic Renfrew, I'll probably give this one a rest for a while as my TNT knit top. It a great stashbuster since it doesn't use a lot of fabric, so I'm sure I'll revisit it again.

I've been working steadily on my contribution to Jungle January and should have something soon to blog about. There's also some altering of other pieces I need to show you before I move on to the next big project on my list (a baby quilt for friends of ours that are expecting). I'm not a quilter by any stretch of the imagination, but it was my Mom's hobby-of-choice for a while. She helped me pick my fabric and I simplified a pattern I found on the internet. I even bought a rotary cutter! 

See you soon!!