Care package

Shopping is not much fun for petite brunettes who live in Boulder, a small town full of blonde giantesses. Nothing fits. The colors don't suit. And the styles are geared towards college-aged kids. What's a busy forty-something mother supposed to wear?

While closet cleaning, I found one of Bad Dad's beloved shirt had developed tears in prominent places.  It's more than 13 years old and had already been patched twice.  The fabric may not last much longer, but I decided to make a top out of it just because the fabric is too wonderful to toss out.

Tori Richard designs their prints and produces their cotton lawn in Japan, and then sews the shirts up in Honolulu.  I was surprised to read on their website that these are printed (instead of batik) fabrics.  The detail on the reverse side is almost as sharp as the printing on the "right" side.  That takes extra care, time and specialized equipment.

I used Simplicity 2938 again, but shortened the torso slightly.  I picked up the sage green cotton stripe at SAS last year.  The brown pants were an ill-fated attempt on my part to try the new ankle pant silhouette.  Note to self: there is a reason why they are shown modeled by size 0 giantesses on stilts.  Hopefully, they should fit her perfectly without hemming.

If the top fits, then I have another shirt and contrast fabric combo waiting to be refashioned for her.  The care package weighed 9 pounds (with organic strawberry jam!) and included 2 dresses, 2 pairs of pants, two blouses, 2 knit shirts and 3 cotton sweaters.  Everything was recycled content so she need suffer no enviro-guilt.  She should be set for spring/summer without shopping.