Piece Nine, and a Finished UFO

This weekend I decided to continue to work on my SWAP for winter, so I made my 9th piece (of 17), a black knit shirt. I know, I know...black clothes are boring...boring to make, boring to photograph. But, hopefully my messing with the settings on the camera will have lightened the photos enough to make the details of the shirt visible.

I had set aside for part of the SWAP a length of black rayon jersey and decided to use it for the Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Mighty Aphrodite Draped Tee:


I purchased this pattern along with my recent order from Fabric.com It was a bit tedious to cut out...huge pieces, that had to be cut in a single layer....but it went together surprisingly easily. After puzzling out the pleats at the shoulder, it was a simple top to make. The back neck facing is sewn right into the armscyes, so it doesn't flip out, which is a nice touch. Here is the finished product:


Here is a close up of the rouching:


If I make this again, I may start the rouching higher on the side, for example, here:


To figure out the pleating at the shoulder, which I initially found confusing, I sat down with my pattern tracing and some tape and just started folding and pleating until I got it right. Basically, everything gets pulled up to the shoulder seam...there are no openings in the shoulder or gathering. Once you get it, you will smack your forehead, but I did find it confusing at first.

Here is the finished top on. Never mind the fact that I am glowing...I tried to lighten it so you could see the details of the shirt, apparently I only succeeded in making myself translucent:


Since I did not want to sew anything that I might want to use for the Endless Combinations Contest on PR, I decided that I would dive into the UFO box...and decided to finish a version of the Hot Patterns Classix Nouveau Pyramid bag that I had cut out about 2 months ago:


I had made this bag once before for my niece....from, of all things, white vinyl. What a miserable fabric to sew!! This one I made from an upholstery-weight woven in a zebra print. I used for the lining a cotton from stash, and a black twill for the handles:


Instead of velcro, I used snaps for the bellows pockets:


Here is a shot of the lining:


And here it is ready to go. Other reviewers have said that the bag is overly large, but I didn't find that to be the case...big bags are "in" right now. Plus, a big bag makes you look smaller!:


So here is where I stand with my winter SWAP, the purple ones are the ones that are finished. The ones in blue are the pieces that could potentially coordinate with the Endless Combinations plan:

1. Dark heather gray wool jersey (dress)
   
2. Wool blend flannel-Burda pants
   
3. Periwinkle charmeuse (shirt)
   
4. Grey/black print charmeuse (blouse with bow)
   
5. Black and grey herringbone suiting (lined pants)
   
6. White jersey knit-3 Graces Tee
   
7. Purple jersey knit with diamond pattern-Butterick 5525
   
8. Purple/ivory cotton shirting eliminated, replace with black and grey knit for McCall's 5978 twinset cardigan and New Look 6735 tee from leftovers
   
9. Heather gray knit (shirt)
   
10. Silk Tweed suiting (skirt)
    
11. Plum jersey knit-3 Graces Tee, also New Look 6735 Tee from leftovers
    
12. Black jersey knit Mighty Aphrodite Draped Tee
    
13. Black boiled wool knit-Cardigan/Jacket
14. Orchid stretch shirting-Butterick 5526
    
15. Plum and orchid striped jersey (shirt)
    
16. Gray cashmere wool suiting (pants)
17. Black rayon challis with purple/orange trim-Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Delicious Dress

Now that I have finished the 9th piece, that means I have passed the half way point!! I am feeling very confident that I will actually finish this plan!

So my plans for next week is that if I work on anything, it will be one of the items that will NOT coordinate with the blue fabrics for the Endless Combinations plan, since that contest does not begin until November 15th.

I hope everyone is having a productive weekend...and used that extra hour for what else, more sewing!