F is for Fun, Flirt item #5

And here we have another outfit! Cardy is Burda 04-2010-117.



Thank you all for your helpful suggestions in comments. (especially Sue and Carol, thank you for sharing your experiences now I don't see feel such a wuss).

I realised that the reason I was struggling with my entries is that I had stopped having fun. I remembered the words from my sister, "if you are not having fun, you're not having anything."

When I stopped to think about it, fun was the only reason I was entering this competition!

So why had it stopped being fun? Because I got taken over by "have to's" and "shoulds" - what I call my "wardrobe entry myths."

Wardrobe entry myths that kill all sense of fun:

1. Everything has to be my best effort if I am going to put my name to it.
Wrong. A competition is a great incentive to raise the bar but it doesn't have to be perfect.

2. Everything has to match.
Wrong. Things that don't match can be really interesting. Use this as an opportunity to experiment with different proportions and interesting styling.

3. Everything has to be carefully thought through.
Wrong. Thinking is the enemy of fun. Intuition is a much better guide.

4. I can't explore and play with the patterns if I want to finish on time.
Sigh. Right. No myth here, it's the time limit that is the really hard part. So will I finish it on time? I don't know. One thing I do know, I have some beautiful fabrics that were inexpensive but not cheap, and I want them to have the best chance to be made up beautifully. Sigh. I will have to make muslins. If that means finishing late that's just going to have to be the way it is.

Now about this cardy.

Things really started to come unstuck with this cardy because I over-thought it. I decided that because my clothes featured a lot of pleats, that to make the outfits match I should put pleats in the tops as well. The pleats on the pockets are cute, The pleats in the shoulders are not. But it's a minor misdemeanour and I've learned my lesson. No more matchy matchy match.





Other than that, I love this cardy. It was Burda's illustrated section but I have to say, I was more confused with their instructions than I have been for a long, long time. But we got there in the end!

The fabric is Marc Jacobs Merino that ended up in Nicks (outlet store) how - I do not know. The band is silk from the Sally Army. Now I often buy "silk" from Sally Army that ends up being polyester after an inquisition. I have even bought fabric labelled "R Cavali 100% seta" which was polyester and the most convincing fake silk I have ever encounterd. Under trial by fire though it proved its counterfeit identity. Good thing it was only a couple of bucks.

But I digress - this fabric, looked like silk, felt like silk, and when burned, much to my surprise, was silk! Hooray!

Well, choppity chop, no time to tarry, back to my next muslin, a dress this time, whose success lies in perfect fit. I am hopeful of pulling this one off.

Acknowledgements - I made the alterations to this cardy after seeing the gorgeous suit made by Sherry.