Often I fall in love with fabric and I don’t exactly know what I want to make but I’m afraid that when I do decide I won’t have enough. So, I buy three yards and end up with too much. I find it very frustrating because it contradicts my mission to be less wasteful when it comes to clothing. I ran into this problem once again after making my Georgia Dress out of Cotton + Steel rayon (bought at Urban Sewciety but I think it is now sold out). I had a decent amount of rayon left and was feeling guilty about it. It’s such a noticeable print, though, I really can’t have two outfits in this fabric?! I knew I had the perfect solution when I came across the pattern for this camisole and shorts nightie in the book Great British Sewing Bee, From Style to Stitch.
My husband bought this book for me on one of his trips to England and I hadn’t cracked it open in a while. It felt fortuitous to come across the pattern for this camisole and shorts nightie at just the right time.
What is not to love about this nightie? It’s comfortable and cute and I just need some warm weather to come along and give me a good reason to put it on.
I am particularly fond of the camisole and plan to hack the pattern to make a few more basic rayon camisoles for everyday wear. I will need to figure out how to finish off the top seam since this pattern only uses the lace for finishing and if I wear this every day I need an encolosed seam. But, it’s a nice basic camisole, isn’t it?
If I do hack the camisole for daytime wearability, I might have the solution for excess rayon fabric in the future. Bonus! Anybody else have this problem? Got any brilliant solutions for over-buying?
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Melody Srygley says
It’s hard to know how much fabric to buy when you don’t know what you’re making! (But have to have the fabric.) So PJs are a great answer to that problem. Coordinating tops and bottoms would be good too.
I bought this same tulip fabric to make a Roscoe blouse, but loved the simplicity of your Georgia dress (with the dramatic print of this fabric). Now what?
Melissa Q. says
Ha! I feel your pain Melody. The Roscoe blouse and the Georgia Dress! That is a tough choice. Yes, PJ’s of all kinds are a great solution to the excess fabric situation. I’m also thinking about underwear for my leftover knit fabrics!
Beckyjopdx says
I am slow catching up on my blog roll, so I just got here! You look GORGEOUS. I love this cami/tap shorts look. Did I miss it or is the cami cut on grain or on bias? I do this with fabric all the time, or worse, buy only two yards…what on earth do I fit in that’s two yards? Pffft. I’ve been using the Seamwork Savannah for using up yardage, and the Seamwork Akita is great for those long, on the fold pieces you have left over…I’ve also split the shoulder on the Akita and used <1 yard remnant. But the Savannah is on the bias…I’ve considered trying to cut it on-grain anyway. Esp rayon which so easily flexes and flows anyway…those are my go-to stash busters, but now I’m thinking I need to draft some tap pants.
Melissa Q. says
It is cut on grain. I am also a Seamwork subscriber so I will have to check those out. It’s nice having options and I only need one nightie set, right? Well, I’m also thinking of a slip so probably, two. And TAP PANTS! REALLY? That is so fun and feels like a full and complete story right there!
Beckyjopdx says
Also! Did you see on the Art Gallery Fabrics blog they’re hosting a giveaway of their new rayon panels? Run, woman, run!
Melissa Q. says
Nope! Didn’t see it and now I must go and enter.
PsychicSewerKathleen says
I am so glad I came across this post of yours! I’m just in the midst of making a few cool cami/shorts outfits for the coming summer months. – I’m just finishing up my 3rd Ogden cami and was about to move onto the Fifi pattern by Tilly & the Buttons…BUT I have this British Sewing Bee book so I have this pattern too and forgot. I’m guilty of putting my sewing books on a shelf and forgetting all the patterns that came with it (the reason I bought them in the first place!) so I’m going to get out this pattern and make up some of these. I love yours AND I have 3 meters of Liberty lawn, washed and ready to go next to my cutting table. What timing! Yours has been a total inspiration – it’s gorgeous 🙂
Melissa Q. says
Oh, I love when this happens! I am the worst about not using the patterns in my books. The Worst. So, I’m happy to have helped you out, friend. P.S. I’m obsessed with the Ogden (and it uses so little fabric, too!).