Garment: tank + skirt

I scored 1.5 yards of a dark hunter green polka dot knit with just a hint of stretch at the local thrift store for just $5.99. After completing several quilts I was itching to do something different, and motivated by an upcoming vacation I opted to make a little set that can be worn together or separate.

I used a close-to-matching poly thread by Guterman and after skipping stitches on my first seam, I realized a ball point needle was inappropriate and a microtex 90/14 proved the right choice instead.

A tailors ham was super helpful for pressing/steaming my seams along curved edges. A clapper would have been nice as the freshly pressed open seams were quick to move back together after lifting the iron. Nothing dramatic, but now I see how allowing the seam to dry and cool under the clapper would result in a crisper finish.

Taking the time to finish a few points by hand will give this set a very polished look in the end. Key places: tacking the facing to the side and center-back seams on the top, and the overlocked waistband edge to the previous waistband seam on the interior (similar to binding a quilt by hand, catching just enough to hold but not too much that the stitch appears on the right side of the garment).

I used two patterns by Yulia of TotoShopUA: the Iris scalloped tank (minus the scalloped hem) and the Olivia wrap skirt.