Gone fishing… twice
Usually I get obsessed with a pattern, but this time it was the fabric that got me, dare I say, ‘hooked’. Not just any fabric, but a high quality cotton/lycra knit featuring fish! A chanced drop-in at the Clear It (Alanah Hill) Outlet after a food shop at the Queen Victoria Market on a Saturday morning brought this fabric and I together. Sometimes there are rewards for completing domestic tasks!
This quirky fish fabric needed a blank canvas to allow it to shine. For me, Tessuti’s Mandy Boat Tee was an ideal choice. For a touch of fun I used some blue thread (water) for all the twin needle stitching. It’s possibly a little lost in the detailed print, but I know it’s there, and sometimes this sewing caper is actually all about me!
Pattern: Tessuti’s Mandy Boat Tee [free pattern]
Size: One Size
Fabric: Cotton/Lyrca knit from Clear It (Alanah Hill) Outlet
Alterations: Removed a total of 1″ (2.5cm) from both the centre front and back to narrow the neckline and reduce the width. The top was shortened by 2″ (5cm) at the hem.
Accessories: 100% merino wool infinity scarf made by me using this tutorial.
But wait, there is more…
My initial fabric purchase allowed me to go fishing twice. Hello Aeolian number eight!
Is this the last time you’ll see the fishes? I suspect not. A few days after the original purchase, and with two fish tops already sewn, I returned to buy the remainder of the roll (nine metres!) and become a fish distributor. Parcels were sent or delivered to three different locations in Australia, and the remaining fabric happily entered my stash. Good quality knits are always welcome in my stash!
Have you every brought a roll of fabric? How do you feel about the fish? Could fish be the next pineapples?
Pattern: Pattern Fantastique’s Aeolian T-shirt/Dress (boxy tee length)
Size: S
Fabric: Cotton/Lyrca knit from Clear It (Alanah Hill) Outlet
Alterations: None!
Accessories: Scarf from Manteau Noir
Oh, how I love those fishes! And as a very grateful recipient of fish fabric, I am now left with the dilemma of which pattern I should use to make a fish top for me! These both look fantastic Anna. Yes, fish are the next pineapples. And no, I’ve never bought the roll….
Thanks Lara. Which pattern for your fish is indeed a tricky question. Do you have a shortlist?
Mandy and Aeolian were originally on it 😉 might pull out my stash and see what else is in there!
I’d be more than happy for us to be twins!
This is such a gorgeous top and scarf combo, the colours are glorious. I love the fishy fabric too and I am normally only smitten with bird prints!
Thanks T. I had a little giggle about bird prints. Are they hard to find?
My husband would approve of this – he’s a certified fly fishing instructor!
He must be a very patient man…
Hmmmm or obsessive….
I’m gonna call you “the mental fish lady”! Hahahaha! I’m coping with my own sewing disaster mach 2 tonight so I got nothin’ more.
I’ll happy wear the mental fish lady badge with pride… as I am a little nuts!
You’re a fishmonger! How funny to have scooped the lot.
The tops look great. I don’t know if I’d have room for two fish tops in my wardrobe but they look great, especially with the orange scarf.
Love a blog post with puns. Now we need an action shot from your holiday, reel in hand!
The Mandy fish top is on holidays with me but it’s yet to see, and unlikely to see, any fishing action as it’s time to come home tomorrow. I rationalised two fish tops with the Aeolian for summer and the Mandy for Spring/Autumn…
This is the BEST! You have found the mother of all printed knits with this one 😀
A lucky but very welcome fabric find. Apparently, there were dogs too, but I missed those!
Love the top! If I came across knit fabric I loved I would have bought a whole roll!!!
Thanks Jenya. I feel a whole lot less greedy now!
LOVE that fabric! I certainly would have been tempted to hoard the whole roll too!
It is awesome fabric and in my defence (wink) I done a combination of hoarding and sharing.
Definitely love the fish. Even better that it’s a knit! I have never bought a roll of fabric, but there are a few fabrics that make me wish I had.
I find good quality knits at reasonable prices are so hard to find. This one definitely ticked all the boxes as it had a quirky print to boot!
Great tops and I’m having a hard time deciding which I like more. They are both so fun. I’ve never bought a roll of fabric and in fact always stumble at buying more than 2 meters… usually I only ever buy 1.5m max!
Fabric buying is such a personal thing. A max. of 1.5… I’m impressed at your frugalness and the ability for you to have enough length to buy dresses!
Ok, those colors, the whimsy- I’d have to go fishing too- those are really fun!
Quirky really should be my middle name!
This is too awesome. My husband is a keen fisherman so I can’t help but imagine how funny it would be to sew him something in it. And thanks for your offer to shop for some of that granny fabric. I’m going to pass (and with the exception of the odd Tessuti parcel ;-)) try to make the most of local-ish fabrics (even though I can only buy online here :-/). I miss fabric shopping in person so much! But it is good for my wallet at least 😉
Thanks Debbie. I can’t imagine not being able to fabric shop in person. I’m insisting that we stop at Joy’s Fabric Warehouse in Geelong tomorrow on the way home from Lorne!
Wow you bought the roll! Got to admit though the fishes tops are working especially the Mandy boat tee. Your wardrobe must be such a colourful place.
My wardrobe is getting more and more colourful Louise, which pleases me greatly.
You always buy the coolest fabrics! What’s next?
Liberty tana lawn posted today, Liberty fleece coming up after that and then a Japanese pattern in some voile from Spotlight. Yes, I’m a little behind in my blogging!
Well I will be watching for it. I’m a little behind in my blog reading. But good news is that the posts won’t disappear! 😄
Well, that post was an emotional roller coaster ride. It went like this:
WOW, fish print! I love it! I want it!
Ooooh, it’s from Clear It. I will go this weekend and get some.
Oh noes! She took the whole roll!
My head hanging low and I’m feeling a little bad. I wish I could offer you some, but most of it has been re-distributed around Australia. I believe there was a dog print too, but that was gone before I got there. You’ve got to be super quick sometimes.
[…] remember this fabric from Anna’s blog. In fact, you might even remember that she also made a Mandy Boat Tee from […]
[…] makes are a thing of beauty, A Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee and a Pattern Fantastique Aeolian Tee. I would have happily sewn up the Aeolian, it’s a […]