Shirt & Jacket

Last year, I bought a cute pair of pants for Dorothy on steep clearance from Gymboree.  I figured that I would be able to find something to go with them because they were a solid color and Gymboree tends to recycle their colors pretty frequently.  Boy was I wrong.  After searching everywhere to find something to go with the pants I finally decided that it would be easier if I just made something.  I was envisioning some sort of fleece type sweatshirt, but the plumb wine color of the pants proved impossible to match.  I went to two fabric stores and there was absolutely nothing that was even close to the same color.

I finally found some corduroy fabric that was pretty close, and the best part was that it was sitting in my sewing room. It was left over from a project I made for a friend and I decided to make a little jacket. I found some buttons that were the perfect color on clearance for less than $1.00 and I found some ivory knit fabric to make the shirt for only $1.50 per yard.



It turned out really well, and I was able to do it for very little money, but it took a while. This was my first time doing a jacket or a knit shirt and both were a little tricky. The jacket ended up being pretty straight forward, but it is difficult to sew such tiny things. I had a pattern for the shirt, but the written directions were pretty much non existent. I had to go slowly, and figure it out myself as i went along. The pattern ended up being a little too wide and boxy, so I ended up taking it in a bit and it fits better now. I'm afraid the neck is still a little wide though. I'll keep that in mind and make adjustments if I ever make this again.



To tie the shirt in to both the pants and the jacket, I appliqued a bird onto it that is very similar to the birds on the corduroy jacket. I used the corduroy fabric as the body of the bird.