Finished Object: Lacewing Top + Hack + Lace Fabric Giveaway (Closed)

Here she is- the top I named Lacewing.  The sleeves on this draft have a certain “swoop” that reminds me of a Lacewing, and the fabric itself reminds me of delicate insect wings, or butterfly scales, or some kind of gentle animal.

We spent the afternoon at the Botanic Gardens by the river the other day and I managed to sneak in a photo shoot.  I can’t believe we never took photos there before!

On the riverbank near the mangrove boardwalk.  According to a plaque we found, Brisbane is Australia’s only capital city to boast a mangrove boardwalk.  There’s 6 capital cities in Australia, and as far as I know several of them are land-locked… At any rate, it’s cool and green and smells like clean river, so I’m a fan.

Remember how I had to piece the back when I cut it out?  I thought I took care to cut it so the pattern would match after sewing, but the fabric had other ideas.  Naturally, when I sewed a sample 3-thread French seam yesterday, the pattern matched by chance.  Why doesn’t it want to when *I* want it to?

Once out of the mangroves, we climbed trees.  I paired the Lacewing Top with my Hemp Hurricane skirt- lovely and breezy for a lazy summer afternoon.  Hemp tends to repel rather than attract dirt, it’s a tough fiber, and I can bleach it in the sun so I didn’t worry too much about climbing trees.

Then we rested on the Platypus bench by the marina.  It’s funny how my red and aqua pieces pick up the colors of the boats- it must be subconscious color-matching on my part.

You can find the hack for this tee here and on the Blank Canvas Tee page.  The hack is for this top only- though I edited out the “swoop” you can see on my top.  The hack’s sleeves are nice and level.  It also explains how to make less full sleeves.  Unlike the other hacks, this one features color photos.  Better or no?

Can you see me?

I started working on the insertion version today and the fabric wasn’t just talking to me, it SHOUTED.  What could I do but obey?  I took a few photos of progress, one is in the header but I messed around with it even after that.  I can’t wait to finish it and show you!  The pattern will be out on Craftsy next week.

Now, speaking of fabric and hacks- I have a game!  I’ve been thinking about it for a little while, I do hope you want to play.

Like so, so many of us creative types, I use pinterest to collect inspiration images.  A week or so ago, I noticed I was *really* attracted to both Cheongsam/Qipao cuts as well as ruched-with-yokes 40’s designs.  I am equally happy to do either for April’s Hack.

The Cheongsam offers a range of possibilities for both embellishment and layering while 40’s ruching is ten kinds of pretty.  I like ruching; it creates curves where none exist for those who would like to have them, and for others the ruching smooths out bumps and flatters the figure.  Everyone wins.  I will use the most popular pins as the springboard for next month’s pattern and hack.  The Cheongsam is simpler to execute than the 40’s ruching, but either will suit.

Some of you have already found the Cheongsam or 40’s Charm? board I made.  For a chance to enter the fabric giveaway you can do several things:

1. Like a pin on the Cheongsam or 40’s Charm board.  You can earn up to 5 points doing this, and double points for leaving a comment about what you like about it.  I am counting all likes and comments from when I first made the board.
2. Re-pin the badge for this giveaway.  3 points.
3. Link to this post on facebook or twitter, and tell me in the comments below.  This is 2 points each.
4. Make a post about this giveaway on your blog for 5 points.
5. Tell me in the comments below that you’ve never won one of my giveaways and you WANT this one- 3 points.
6. Tell me you live outside the United States- 3 points.  Sorry, Americans!  Take it up with the US Postal Service for charging ridiculous rates so they can delay and open all packages entering the country.

I add your name to a spreadsheet then do the random number generator thing.  I will choose two names at random and then the name with the most points gets first dibs.  Giveaway/voting closes on April 7 at 6pm my local time.  Sound good?

The prize is 1.5m of looooooovely textured linen-cotton jersey and 1.5m each of wide and narrow cotton insertion lace *or* 2.0m of the cotton-nylon lace I used for Lacewing.  Anyone may enter (even if you’ve won before), but I must warn you that parcels to the United States have been very slow or just plain old disappeared lately.  I don’t know what to do about it except hope for the best and buy insurance next time.

If you don’t have pinterest and you want to play, email me and I’ll hook you up.