A little step forward

After knits I have faced another one of my fabric terrors and I think I won: I can now sew with chiffon!

Okay for my first try I didn't exactly choose the most difficult project, it's a very basic top from the first Japanese sewing book I purchased -how なつかしい:

I actually made this top for one of my secondary school students but the result looked a little too grown-up so I kept it for me and made another one in girly blue Liberty for her :)
So my ultimate tip for sewing with chiffon is the same as with knits, ie add your seam allowances on your paper pattern so you can simply cut around and don't have to trace anything, which would make the fabric move too much. You can also use more weights than usual to keep your pattern in place, it will help stabilize the chiffon. Once the pieces were cut I used a simple straight machine seam and narrow zigzag to put the top together and finish the inside. With this design you're supposed to use self-made bias to create the tunnels through which you thread the strap but I felt that cotton bias tape would be more resistant so I put some instead and chose sheer ribbon for the strap.

I'm so happy I could make some progress in my sewing skills in 2013, maybe I'll finally be able to make some decent trousers in 2014^^