Illustration Friday - Spin

Not the current topic but one from last year that I never finished. Since none of February's topics inspired me, I decided to have another go at this one. I'm sure that the original image came from a Creative Commons search of Flickr, but, unfortunately, I can no longer attribute it. The spinner is wearing an ID tag at her waist (which I had to carefully remove), so I guess she is giving a demonstration at a heritage farm or the like. 

 

I was about to go on and on here, telling you in enthralling detail how I went from that image to this, which I thought was my final result. But, yes, I do realize that you may not be as enthralled by the intricacies of Photoshop as I am. (Mr. C is nodding his head vigorously in agreement with that!). So I'll just say that, after hitting Save one last time around midnight, I snuggled into bed well pleased with what I had wrought with layers and masks and blend modes and filters and.... 

Of course, it's always a good idea to sleep on it. In the morning I saw a more “illustrative” effect in my mind's eye, so I fired up Photoshop once again and some time later (much too much time later), I ended up with this. I probably could work on it more, trying out various other ideas and techniques, but now it really is time to call it completed and move on to my next adventure manipulating pixels for my own personal amusement and edification.

And so to bed...

One reason to  keep a pattern that didn't prove completely satisfactory is that it may have design details that will work on an altered version. So when I wanted a loose-fitting pajama top with raglan sleeves and tucks or pleats on the bodice front, this Vogue pattern came to mind.  

The problem with the top I had made from it in a fine jersey knit was that that lovely pleated neckline would never stay straight across like the illustration; the weight and drape of the jersey made it droop quite a bit, regardless of what I did to try to fix it.

 On my pajama top, I actually wanted a rounded neckline, and also a higher one for warmth. I raised the neckline by 1½ inches at the center back, seguing to 1 inch at the shoulder, and raised the top of the sleeves by 1 inch. On the front, while also raising the neckline by 1 inch, I narrowed it 1½ inches at the beginning at the side top, gently seguing back to the original seamline, I kept the same number of pleats, now spaced closer together. I also stitched the pleats down and bound the entire neckline.

 

I first made a muslin in some old interlock which turned out well, but still drooped slightly in the front, so on my final version, I made the pleats slightly wider, so that each fold abuts the next pleat on the inside. 

 

















 

I tried double-needle tucks on the sleeve bottom on this version also. It's a nice little detail but if I were to do it again, I would make the tucks longer and closer together to snug the sleeve more to the wrist. I bound the bottom just like the neckline, except with a narrower binding. 

I'm very pleased with how this top turned out. It's very soft and warm since the inside of the knit is brushed like a sweatshirt knit.

  

 

 

The pattern for the pajama pants was traced from some Eddie Bauer pjs that I wore until threadbare. I didn't buy quite enough of the cotton flannel to allow for complete placement on the directional print, so by cutting apart the pattern back about 8 inches below the waist, I was able to make a perfect match with this separated piece.

 

Well, I'm tired after so much work, time to test out my new jammies. Nighty-night.