Friday, February 8, 2008

Bathrobe Attack!

I loved the purple version of BWOF 8/06 #113 so much that I knew I'd be making another one shortly. Early in the Fall, I became obsessed with the idea of making a sweaterdress. I was picturing something comfy-cosy and still pretty. It's hard to find sweaterknit fabric, actually, and I ordered some cotton double knit from Wazoodle hoping it would suffice. Please note: double knit looks nothing like sweaterknit, and when one is ordering a particularly bright shade of green one should not order five yards of it. Needless to say, it did not suffice. Then I found some on FFC, an off-white with a few metallic gold threads running through it--very pretty, very feminine. Yay!

I thought this pattern would be a great fit as a sweaterdress. In the magazine it was suggested to use jersey or sweaterknit, and people have made very successful versions out of sweaterknit in the past. Yay!

Um, not yay. For any who may think that I have inerrant taste and inherent skill to know exactly what will look good, behold the Bathrobe Attack:



So, um, let's review: white sweaterknit + tie = bathrobe.

I cut it off and made it into a shirt.



It still looks a leeeetle bit like the oversized love child of a karate uniform and the clothing worn by the rebel alliance in the first Star Wars trilogy, but I also think it's kind of cool. I'm citing my style influence as Dries Van Noten--check out his oversized, belted sweater with large collar from Fall 2008. And this sucker is warm! As part of sewing with stash, I underlined it with some white ribbed cotton (part of the reason it looked so bathrobe bulky, but I don't think a thinner underlining would have solved my problem) so it's perfect for those cold winter days when, well, you *do* want to wear your bathrobe around all day.

10 comments:

loopylulu said...

Good job saving this project. When things don't go as planned I normally banish it to the "what project?" bag.

Debbie Cook said...

OMG this is hilarious but what a great save!! And you're a small woman ... can you imagine what this would've looked liked on, say, ME?? ;-)

BTW, I (mostly) grew up in the NoVa/D.C. area and then moved to FL after being married a couple of years. I do NOT miss the cold one little bit. Or the traffic. Or the real estate prices. I finally got over missing the Redskins though.

Auset's Stitched Treasures said...

I love it!! Is the fabric stretchy enough and the collar wide enough to be able to wear it slightly off the shoulders? I just see it with a satiny, flowy skirt, fishnets and mid heel pumps for having drinks with my beau. Do you mind if I borrow your idea?

Angela

Alana said...

Excellent Save! I'm impressed.

Lisette M said...

Well, cutting it short was definitely the right thing to do. It looks great!

Laura said...

I think it looks great as a top. Sweaterknit seems to be tricky, as far as weight goes; too thick and it really doesn't work on anything with any details (like your wrap ties), too thin and it isn't warm and doesn't drape well.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Ha ha, glad you all feel my pain on not getting things quite right.

loopylulu--I love the idea of a "what project?" bag. Must start one.

Angela--feel free! I certainly didn't design this pattern. It can be worn off the shoulders; I assume you saw it the pattern review but I'll not here that I hand-sewed the collar down at the seam line, otherwise it wouldn't open into such a wide portrait neckline.

Linda L said...

I like it much better as a sweater. By the way I was in your neck of the woods Tuesday thru Thursday. Tuesday was a nightmare with the ice/freezing rain. I arrived (drove up from mid-VA)right about the time it started spitting ice/freezing rain.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Linda, Tuesday night was AWFUL. I had to go vote after work and there is no way to get to my polling place by public transportation, so I walked there. Which was kind of stupid considering the ice and that it's about two miles from work, but there was really no other way to get there. I *completely* fell flat on my back within three blocks of my work, but luckily that was the only time.

Dawn said...

You were right. I totally love my version of this BWOF top.

Nice save on this BTW, it looks excellent as a top.