After my realization about sheer knits and my hatred of camisoles and their sometimes obligatory necessity, I started thinking about sewing a couple of woven tops. I run into a couple of problems in thinking about this though.
There’s a couple of lengths of wovens in my stash that I love. L-O-V-E. Like I sometimes go through my stash and dream of what they will be and how long I’ll wear them for as if I were a gardener peeking on my little seedlings or something. But at the stage I’m at, I have a hard time justifying surrendering up some of those fabrics to keep myself cool in this heat. Here they are, and even as I photograph them, I put them in deep stash so they will be safe from my grabbing hands.
The thing about it is that maternity clothes, kind of no matter what end up being one season clothes. Who knows if I’ll be pregnant again at this stage in the summer or in my pregnancy, and it’s up in the air whether or not the stuff I do have will fit come fall given that I will be considerably more pregnant than I have been in the fall before. Giving up any of these dear fabrics seems pointless, and I’d genuinely be sad just to wear any of them for a season.
Buying a couple of RTW woven tops is out of the question too. I despise things falling off my shoulders because the neckline is too wide and readjusting the front because the neckline is too low, and the more I do petite adjustments in the armscye to fit my body, the less tolerant I am of sleeves that are cut with lower armholes. So you see, I’ve become my own worst enemy.
But I will happily sew up this mind-numbingly pedestrian white shirting I have (not pictured because you all know what I’m talking about). If I hate it, I will dye it. As I was taking pictures of the other fabrics, it occurred to me that this rather boring fabric is also kind of sheer. Biscuits. Back to the drawing board.
How about everyone else? Do you have a hard time sewing up fabrics that you truly love or do you put yourself in tricky pickles with your resolve to not buy/dislike for the fit in RTW?
Sew them up. Life is short and there is always more fabric you will love. I have many many pieces in my stash that have been there for years, I should have sewn them when the inspiration was keen rather than hang onto them, and now they don’t inspire quite so much. Live in the moment!
I agree. Sew them up or donate them to the local charity or sewing guild. Especially something that you know will be especially flattering. You can always make stuff that is easy to take in later – princess seams and the like. Or sew stuff for your pre/post pregnancy bod that you can look forward to wearing later! But I would just sew them up into something wonderful ASAP so you can enjoy them now!
Another one who agrees about sewing up your fabric now, enjoy it now. I rarely purchase RTW due to the way I like my clothes to fit so try and work out garments that you can wear now that will give you a lot of enjoyment.
Ah, too good to use, the perpetual sewist conundrum. I am working on not buying fabric, so it’s time to sew up the TGTU. In your instance, though, I do think pregnancy gives you a pass. Maybe choose a second-tier piece and just gift it to your pregnant self.
If it were me, I’d sew up those precious pieces post-baby, so you can wear them more. On the other hand, maternity clothes can be a drag (maybe because you have fewer of them to rotate, and because you feel huge), so several items in a favorite fabric could be really nice.
You might try using a double layer of the too-sheer fabric. It can’t be any hotter than an extra layer (camisole) and more comfortable. Some of my RTW t shirts are two thin layers, and they are very comfortable and flattering.
I hear you on the too good to use fabric, and having given birth to 4 children, I also understand the maternity wardrobe dilemas. I like your idea of dyeing your white shirt. Lots of room for creativity there. I would keep your to-good-to-sew fabric for after baby/after weight loss; so that you can wear your favorite fabrics for years, not months or weeks.