Moonlight LDT Dress

There is a tendency each summer for me, to sew identical clothes, which I feel lacking in my wardrobe in a particular point of time. Some years it was Rhapsodies, last year it was yoke tunics, this year its wide short viscose dresses. The latter is no wonder, given the unusual high temperatures we've been having for a second month already.

So, after I finished my last LDT short dress, which I absolutely love to wear, I remembered a piece of fabric I was left with after finishing my mother's nightgown. It is super soft, super tender to the skin viscose knit fabric, which felt perfect for a casual lounge dress.

I used again the LDT, short dress length, the smallest size, which, given how huge American sizing is, is enormous on me. However that was exactly what I was looking for in these hot days. I fidgeted a bit with the shoulders and the arm openings, as the original tank top upper part of the dress is too cut out for my taste. The alternative design, however, intended for sleeves, is too wide - in the end I cut something in between with 6.5 wide shoulders. Next time I might even go to 6 cm wide, or alternatively, use again the tank top version, but with armhole bands.

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: viscose knit

Time to make: 3 days

Do I have now enough short viscose dresses for this summer? IDK, I might need just one more :)

Bright Red Tunic

Last year I made three LDT tunics to be worn with leggings and I still love them and wear them a lot. However, summer this year is so hot, that I found that I prefer a longer tunic to be worn like a short dress without any shorts or leggings. I took out my old LDT dress, now much faded and worn out and came to the conclusion, that I would like something similar out of cotton/viscose knit, but without the sleeves.

I was planning a trip to the fabric shop, but I remembered, that I had a fairly large remnant of cotton-viscose fabric from the T-shirt I made for my husband last summer. As l liked the idea of color combos, with which I experimented in these tunics, I found some matching colorful remnant from this blouse  and I am totally in love with the way these two work together.

I chose the tank top version of the Laundry Day Tee, with the added 3 cm wide armhole bands. It seemed to me, that the wider bands kind of brought the two fabrics better together, but I might be wrong. I'm planning a second short dress out of fabric remnants and I'm going to experiment with narrow finishing bands, so we'll see.

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: bright red cotton-viscose knit and cotton knit

Time to make: 5 days

As my piece of fabric was wide but short, I had to cut the back at the same length as the front. I didn't have enough flowery fabric for the back yoke, so I cut it out of the main fabric. I think it works perfectly like that, with the flower accent at the front and the solid back.

I spent the whole day today working from home in this short dress and I can tell you - it's a winner for the hot days :)

Third Red Wine Tunic

It's been two months (!!!) since my last make! It was another tunic, my favourite piece of clothing this summer, that I am wearing right now. I'm sure quite soon after I finished it I found out, that a tunic, made out of ITY, was the perfect lounge-ware in the heat and I took out my last pieces of wine red ITY and other scraps of knit fabric and concocted this pink and red combination.

And then - then life happened. I took another commission this summer, Gaby and her boyfriend visited us and we traveled across the country, then this, and that, and the other, and the sewing project I had started just stayed in an unfinished phase for two months.

Until I took it out two days ago and finally finished it. My hands itch for sewing and I plan to gradually return to it. Yesterday I bought the new Burda Style issue in German and today I bought a very detailed online course for blouse 124 of Burda 03 /2021 (22 video instruction lessons plus the pattern). I love sewing video tutorials and one learns so much about the small and refined details that go into making good quality clothing. Watching the making of this blouse is more enthralling to me than a crime show :)))

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: wine ITY (100% polyester) and cotton knit

Time to make: NA

Notes: This is the regular LDT, without the sleeves. I did not like the cut of the tank top version around the armholes, so for my third tunic I chose the regular pattern, but took in the shoulders by 3.5 cm. I also shortened the back yoke by 2 cm in length, as I didn't want the armholes to be too gaping under the arms. I still haven't worn it and I don't know if my modifications were good, but judging by the success of my tunic number II, I'm sure this iteration will get a lot of wear next summer. 

And yes, as this tunic was made out of scraps, it has a seam at the back. But, as I recently heard, a good master never lets good fabric go to waste :) I don't mind the seam and I make these tunics for wearing at home, so I am happy I put my scraps to use.

One More Wine Red Tunic

And because I was in the mood and had red thread on the overlocker and my Laundry Day Tee pattern out and still plenty of fabric, I made another Wine Red Tunic out of the same tandem of fabrics, this time reversed - striped top and solid bottom.

 

I also opted for the tank top cut of the LDT - I had actually never tried it before. I found it a bit too much cut out at the front - I prefer my tank tops more covering around the arms area. I had intended to make the tunic without armbands, but I did not like the way the tunic gaped, so in the end I added 3 cm solid bands.

I also tried to add a small feature to one of the shoulder straps, making it in solid fabric, but I don't think it shows that much. It might even look like a defect rather than the intended effect, but I'm not at all bothered by it, so whatever.

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: wine ITY (100% polyester) and striped cotton-viscose knit

Time to make: 3 days

I have still quite a piece of the solid color ITY fabric, but I think I'm done with Laundry Day Tunics for now. It could be good for a small light top with spaghetti straps, probably because it's rather hot recently and spaghetti straps are all I can think of right now :) However, I'm so busy, that I doubt I'll have the time to whip up a new top any time soon.

Shkatulka Blue Tank Top

Something quick and easy I made for my summer hiking trips - a new tank top. 

I took advantage of our hike today from Dragalevtzi to Momina skala to take a few pictures of my new tank top, while standing on a bridge over the Dragalevtzi river.

The pattern is an oldie I've had in my collection and made a couple of times - a free pattern from Shkatulka. I've used the T-shirt pattern with various modifications, but this is my first with the tank version. I am fairly happy with it, and I actually have another one already made for Gaby. However, I am now curious to find and explore other tank patterns, as this one is a bit too simple for my taste.

For my first try of the tank pattern I used the material from a failed blouse - my so called Picasso top. Because of the unusual construction of the top, I had to cut the back in two pieces, which I then embellished with two color stripes. 

Pattern: Shkatulka Tank Top

Size: 42, shortened

Fabric:  double knit

Time to make: 2 days

All in all, not so bad for a hiking tank top, but I really want to find a better fitting and more interesting pattern for my next sleeveless tops. And, it turns out, I need quite a few with the hot summer days ahead.