Here’s a quick, stash-busting top, using McCall’s 6792 dress & top pattern by Palmer/Pletsch.  I had the taupe fabric, which is a one-way stretch double knit (I think — it’s got a different colour on the inside…is that a double knit?) leftover from this colour blocked dress I made, and the mustard yellow Ponte knit was purchased with the idea that I might have made this coral-coloured paneled sheath dress with some colour blocking, but decided not to (good decision, no?).

I’m not terribly keen on this shirt, mainly because the putty-colour is really drab and I feel a bit like I’m wearing a prison uniform or something. But it was fun to make, as it was satisfying using up fabric I had on hand as well as making it in about 4 hours (about 1 hour or 90 mins to pin & cut, the rest to sew & press). I did twin-needle top stitching around the colour block, so I learned how to pivot around a corner with a twin needle. There’s no trick or mystery to it — you just have to fudge it, basically. When you get to the corner, lift the needles just out of the fabric, carefully turn the fabric a few degrees around the corner keeping the needle at the innermost part of the corner in the same place. Make the stitch, then repeat the process (maybe 3 or 4 times) until you have turned the corner completely. The innermost needle should come down in the same place each time you make a stitch.

It’s a very loose fit, but not as loose as I thought it might be when I was cutting the pattern pieces. It would be very easy to adjust for a smaller fit, as it’s one simple seam along the sides and sleeves that could easily be moved as needed. Overall this has the feel of a comfy but lightweight sweatshirt.

And here’s me standing in a pile of leftover birdseed. I’ve felt really sorry for the birds & squirrels lately, having been through a massive snowfall, an ice storm, a “polar vortex” complete with “frost quakes” (new terminology I hope never to hear again), and drenching rain all within the last 3 or 4 weeks. It’s amazing they survive. We’ve gone from -39 degrees Celsius with the wind chill factor to +8 degrees in one week. Today we have a flood warning in effect here in Toronto. Climate change is really having its way with us lately.