I'm so excited to finally be at the point of cutting and working with the final fabric ( TS582 World Print) given to me by Funkifabrics. If you've been following along, this is the 5th post in the series around designing and sewing a dancewear top in a large scale print. This wonderful, busy, crazy, and colorful print was designed by the talented team at Funkifabrics. Originally printed on their flexcite (think basic nylon lycra swimsuit like material only better!) and is now available in one of their performance fabrics called Titan.
Before I cut into my good fabric, I love to sketch out my designs. Get them out of my head and see them on paper. Many things are revealed to me that cannot be seen by visualizing alone. Imagine how tickled I was that my basic 4 color highlighter set actually mirrored the colors of the TS582 World Part quite perfectly! Sketching the designs also gives me a chance to "live" with the design for a few days allowing my creative mind to roll the concept around for a while and see if I'm still "in love" with the idea or if it was just a fun idea. Some ideas never make it past their infancy, others go all the way. I choose to allow myself to let the ideas be what they are. If I'm not in love, then this is the time to change it.
The design for this top is a combination of several patterns and ultimately one that I've taken many liberties with. I need to give it a name, other than Funkyfabrics Top, because it really doesn't conform to any other pattern.
The design for this top is a combination of several patterns and ultimately one that I've taken many liberties with. I need to give it a name, other than Funkyfabrics Top, because it really doesn't conform to any other pattern.
Looking at the photos of the TS582 World Party, you may notice that the drips go sideways nearest the printed text from Funkifabrics printer. I assume that the fabric printing text is the file name and such, and would indicate that is likely UP. Granted, I still did a stretch test to see which direction might have more stretch over the other, and still this felt like the best direction for the lengthwise grain. As I study the fabric, I notice that the drips go every which way, and no one direction over another feels like "up" when looking at the print. I wouldn't want to cut the whole pattern out only to find out I drip sideways. That would make people looking at me feel a little sea sick, or likely to run for some V8. Maybe even a Costco sized pallet of V8!
Another thing to note is that the flo pink flexcite is a little bit shear. That's not necessarily a bad thing, But, if you're going to use it over your booty, bust or other areas and you prefer a bit of modesty, a lining or some other layer between may be preferred. I'm using this on the yolk, which I have since raised above my bust point (the muslin of the yolk actually fell below my bust point - whoops!). Plus, I'm using a layer of powernet beneath it. So I'm not concerned about it being see through in this case.
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Because there is are distinctive blue and pink "lines" or swaths of color that runs crossgrain, I chose to align the hem of both front and back by first using a ruler. As you can see from my photo, the chance of that ruler being straight is slim.
Welcome the T-square to the party! I aligned the T-square to the crisp edge of the printing, then aligned the other ruler to the T-square and voila! Alignment!
Now, isn't that front piece both wild and fun at the same time? Once on my body, wrapping around my curves, it won't be nearly so wide looking. I kind of dig that I'll have tiger stripes on either side of my navel! RAWR!
I noticed that I might have a little bit of fabric left over. So, I got to thinking, why not make a skirt or pair of swim shorts out of the left-overs? I love dancing in skirts, and it would be potential craziness to have both top and skirt out of this (like on the verge of too much), so I sketched out a skirt too. Once I finish the top, I may come back to make that skirt. I've grown to enjoy wearing wild prints on my bum and shaking it on the dance floor. Plus, it would be a great way to test the Titan fabric against my skin in a different area.
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