Pencil it in!

As long time followers will know, whilst my real sewing passion is whipping up endless dresses (especially ballgowns), I do try and keep my makes somewhat practical with some separates here and there. And, truth be told, even I must admit that I do get more wear out of my me-made tops and bottoms on a day to day basis than all my fancy frocks 😛 So amongst all the dresses I’ve been posting about lately, I thought I’d better show off the ensemble I made during my break: a black Gable top and a pencil skirt in vintage wool!

Insta followers would have seen me post this shot a few weeks ago (guess you guys liked it, it’s my most popular photo ever!), and even though I’d been happy with how both makes had turned out, even I didn’t realise how much I loved them both until I saw them together! I won’t talk too much about the skirt, as I’ve already blogged about this pattern from Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing here, here and here 🙂 The real feature of this make is the fabric – piece of vintage green wool I snapped up at Savers for a couple of bucks. Fellow Aussies can imagine my astonishment when I saw the original price tag was still on the fabric – and that it been bought from Myer! The lovely ladies in Those Darn Sew & Sews Facebook group were able to assist me in my sleuthing, and between us we dated the fabric to somewhere in 1966 – 1974! 🙂 Fortunately there was just enough for this pencil skirt! I already had some green satin in the right shade to line it, and a green button that matched perfectly. I love how it turned out 😀

The Gable top is a pattern I’ve had my eye on for some time – and when it went on sale earlier this year I grabbed it! It’s a lovely classic design which works brilliantly for both vintage and more modern styles, so I thought it would be a great fit in my wardrobe. I finally got around to sewing it up during my holiday break, using a black ponte fabric I picked up from Lincraft last year. I have to say I do love working with knit patterns, especially after making my way through a complicated make like my watermelon wool dress! The Gable top proved no exception, as I managed to complete sewing it together in an hour. I think next time I would choose a slightly stretchier fabric and move down a size for a better fit, but this one turned out pretty well for a first attempt and I’ve already gotten so much wear out of it! I choose a size 10 for the shoulders, grading to 12 for the bust, 8 for the waist and 6 at the waist; however next time, I think I’d go for a straight size 8 in a knit with greater stretch. I do love the relaxed fit of this version however!

Safe to say, I think there’ll be a few more Gable tops in my future! I’m hoping to sew up a couple out of some leftover knits in my stash – watch this space!

Anyone else surprise themselves with how much they’ve loved a make they were less enthusiastic about?

Until next time,

Maddy xx