A Pinteresting Problem

I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest. Even apart from the questionable wisdom of bombarding one's self with images of perfectly staged rooms and beautiful wares, there is another dilemma: actually putting all of those marvelous saved ideas to use! Granted, the "love" generally outweighs any misgivings I might have, and I have a burgeoning Pinterest board to prove it. But sometimes I grow frustrated at the masses of wonderful ideas I've saved (but never used), and feel the urge to actually make the things I've pinned.

Fortunately, that urge aligned with Rosa's need for summer tops and a remnant of brown linen I had from my most recent Tova.  

The neckline looks a bit awkward in this view, but it seems to work well
when Rosa is actually wearing it.

I've had a pleat tutorial from Project Run and Play saved for several years, and still hadn't put it to use. Why not try it now? I pulled out my Shaka Laka blouse pattern, added the appropriate amount to the center front, and got busy.

Let me just say right here that this was quite a tedious undertaking! The fluidity of my linen fabric stymied my efforts to get perfect pleats, my fabric marker is almost out of ink, and overall it ended up being a bit more difficult than I'd anticipated. Happily, I managed to get it right -- or rather, close enough -- in the end. Stitching the little pleats together was actually quite satisfying, so I shouldn't gripe too much.

For the back, I omitted the buttons and left a gap at the top for a closure.

A vintage pearl button seemed the best candidate in my stash, and a simple button loop sewn with brown buttonhole thread secures it all in place. I wasn't even sure I remembered how to sew a button loop, but it came back quite naturally. Assuming I did it right, which may not be the case... It functions, in any case, and I promise it looks half decent. 

I top-stitched the neckline and faced armholes with fuchsia thread to match the pleat detailing, and repeated that with the hem stitching. Just a little pop of color to brighten it up for Rosa!

Of course, I realize that I'm setting myself up for quite a bit of ironing this summer, since most of Rosa's recent makes have been cotton and linen. But the joy she has in wearing the clothes I make her should get me through any ironing tedium -- and a bit of satisfaction at finally completing a Pinterest project won't hurt, either.

One down, several thousand to go.... *wink*