Boring Beige or Khaki?

Usually I have a game plan of what to sew at the beginning of every season. That plan is not one that I necessarily stick to, because, you know - new fabrics and/or ideas pop up spontaneously.  There are always far too many projects in the list than one body can possibly accomplish.  But there is a plan.

This year I just couldn't even muster an iota of enthusiasm for summer sewing. The weather is, well, cold.  There have been a few spurts of heat, but generally, there is no great need for real "summer" clothes.  But since I have to keep sewing, because that's just part of my life, and samples for classes, etc. aside, I'm just going to dip into my fabric stash and see where that takes me.

First "lucky" piece was a rough weave cotton with an embroidered border.  Yes, it's boring beige.  Oh, wait - let's call it khaki, which then makes this "on trend".  Oh how I loved that fabric when I bought it!  It was supposed to be a skirt.  That skirt never happened.  If I loved this fabric so much - then why, oh why has it been shifted around for so many years?  At this point I have plenty of skirts, and I could do with a few more pairs of pants.  So...

Not too much fabric to play around with.  I used my self-drafted pants pattern and widened the legs.  (Sure-fire way to get a decent fit!)  I just hope that this shorter length won't look too odd a few years down the line.

Of course there were leftovers.  Not much, but just enough to squeeze out a top.  (KwikSew 2976 - OOP).  The back needed a seam.  Having recently "rediscovered" my flat-felling foot, which makes an absolute breeze of that particular seam treatment, I decided to put it to good use.  Makes for a nice smooth inside.

And for a bit of redemption from "terribly boring beige" - black piping around the neck and black buttons.

Not enough fabric left to make the bias strips needed to finish off the neck and armhole edges, and that's where some quilting cotton came in handy.  And the easiest part of this top - the hem.  I just left the selvage as is.  

One major bonus of this outfit - it's easy enough to pull a sweater over it to keep warm!