Not quite Project Runway!

It was like my own little version of Project Runway in my new art studio today - the only thing I was missing was a dressmaker's dummy and the drama!  (Are you a Project Runway fan like I am?  If so, who do you like so far this year?  Kate? Helen? Or one of the boys? I change my mind every week, it seems.  And what the heck was with Alexandria and those ridiculous pants in this week's show?  Was anyone else surprised that Heidi actually LIKED them and said she'd wear them?  Hideous!!!) 

Anyhow - back to MY one-day sewing project invention (finished product pictured below).  I hadn't really thought about my art studio as a place for my sewing machine, but my husband suggested it and he was right -  it was a wonderful place to work - I had great light, a good worktable, and I didn't need to move everything for dinner!!  I listened to public radio podcasts all afternoon, and refused to make dinner until the sewing project was complete.  Here it is, from my backside:

I neglected to take any before pictures, because this project has been sitting around SO long.  I started with a little black and white patterned tank top that I bought probably three or four years ago, because it was on a TJ Maxx bargain rack and I figured I could 'make it work'.  But the neck was way too low, and the armholes were too big, so I had raised the shoulders, and cut and reshaped the neck.  And it just didn't look right, and it was a little short on the bottom and I didn't like the fit of the armholes either.  Sigh.   And while you can't see it in the crappy photos, the printed fabric is thousands of tiny pleats, going in and out, making it a real challenge to sew.

So it had been at least a year, maybe more, since I touched it.  Last week I bought pieces of silky black fabric and white fabric, and today I went to work.  I traced some sleeves from an old pattern, and then altered the shape a bit.  I sewed in the sleeves and added a trim cuff of black, and then the big challenge - the bottom.  It was originally curved, longer in the front and back, shorter on the sides.  I cut the fabric straight across, very challenging due to those pleats!  I experimented with sewing the pleats shut on the bottom, but that made it too tight, so in the end I stretched out the pleats to sew on the black fabric on the bottom. which gives it a very forgiving-on-the-hips slightly gathered drape.  (Why didn't my husband remind me I had on that dumb headband when he shot the photos?   And no earrings - I am usually NEVER seen without earrings!  But he's no photographer - I had to TELL him to turn the camera to take the picture vertically!)

Anyhow, I'm thrilled with the way the project turned out and I can't wait to wear my silky new shirt!  Not too bad for an afternoon's work!  I hope it holds together - the white and black fabrics seem to fray very easily.  Meanwhile, I have another similar project, also sitting around for years, and hopefully I'll get to that one in the next week. 

So back to the real Project Runway - who do you think is on track to win?