union street lace

I don't know exactly what makes me look at something I like and think, "I have to buy one of those!" and what makes me look at something else and think, "I have to MAKE one of those!"

(I went through a Laura Ashley dress binge in my 20s -- that really made sense because the dresses were pretty simple, usually made with cotton prints you could get anywhere, McCalls sold the patterns, and in the store the dresses were WAY out of my price range. Sometime I'll have to dig out the old photos and make a post about them.)

Why would anyone want to make their own t-shirts, I ask you? You can find really nice ones on sale for like five bucks from time to time at places like Lands End, and any day of the week you can pick up perfectly serviceable ones at Target or H & M for about the same price. Scoop necks, v-necks, every color of the rainbow. I think I discovered the knit fabric shelves at M & L -- yes, you can buy t's at Target, but that print! And the neat indy patterns on the internet. I got lured. (Name that movie.) 

Then I saw some cute stretch lace t's at Down East. (We can talk about my new Down East addiction some other time. Thanks a lot Mormon mommy bloggers. Yeah, you are responsible for Cafe Rio too.) They weren't even that expensive, but for some reason my mind went immediately to the stretch lace section at the fabric store and the Union Street t-shirt pattern I had bought from Adrianna at Hey, June. I had already made it up once so I knew the pattern worked great and fit like a dream.

I chose the gray and wine shades of this nice stretchy lace with a rose pattern. It comes in a bunch of pretty colors and only costs $4 a yard. It was a little fiddly to work with, but basically manageable. The lace fabric is quite a bit stretchier than the other knit I tried this pattern with, so I sized down at least one size to get a snug fit.

They are fun to style with different color camis and jewelry, and they are super comfortable to wear. This fall (in Southern California we need to start gearing up for cooler weather because temps might fall INTO THE 70s by NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER -- yes, I am complaining about that, sorry, Minnesota) I said, this fall I think they will be cute layered with sweaters or jackets.

You know what would be cute for fall? Long sleeves! Back to the fabric store!

Oh, and the movie? It's Bull Durham. Repeat after me -- women are too strong and powerful to be lured.