Make do and alter

I'd been wanting a short sleeved shirt to wear recently and thought I'd like to make a couple (plans are afoot), but of course that would take time. How many times have I wished I had some sort of sewing time machine and could conjure up the garment then and there! But then I guess I'd miss out on the fun of actually making it, which is meant to be the point, right?!! Arghh!. Anyway... I opened my wardrobe and there staring at me was my ikat print cap sleeved Tova.



When I made it I loved it, and still do, but for some reason it never gets chosen to wear, even when I'm craving that style! I always thought what put me off must be the bright colour and crazy pattern, that I'd need to be in the mood to wear it, and I guess that mood didn't take me often. I tried it on and was pondering this when it suddenly hit me that the length is all wrong. I'd originally extended the length from the pattern so that I could wear it with my Japanese Black Spinel trousers - the short top over leggings is not a look for me. But the truth is that it never really went with the black spinels anyway.



So out came the scissors, I chopped a few inches off the hem and re-sewed it... 15 minutes later I had a much more wearable garment. It's a subtle adjustment but one that I think makes a lot of difference to the feel of the shirt. Time will tell but I think this might even have turned into a favourite, when I'd almost given up on it.

I think the lesson this has taught me is that if something isn't working, especially when I've put lots of time and effort into making it, I need to try to work out what the problem is and fix it before starting something new (while dreaming of those new tops to come ;-)