Deer and Doe Ondee Part Deux

One and a half years ago, I made the Deer and Doe Ondee in a mustard ponte knit from GirlCharlee.com to layer over my summer dresses so I can wear them in cooler seasons. Back then I mused, “I love the texture and the comfort of the ponte knit, so I ordered more in a kelly green. I wonder if I should make another Ondee from it?”

Well, past me, here we are with the answer!

I went for the short-sleeved version and omitted the Peter Pan collar because I will wear my green Ondee with my B&W Gingham Shirt Dress, as seen here.

This was an easy sew except when it came to the neck band. The short-sleeved version has a higher neckline, which I wanted, but it’s supposed to be paired with the collar pieces, so there is no neckband piece drafted for the smaller circumference. I just cut out the neck band for the long-sleeved version and measured the high neckline and trimmed the neck band accordingly. Well, I didn’t make the neck band short enough and it was flopping all over the place. And silly me, I SERGED the whole thing together because I was so confident that I was a genius and didn’t need to baste-check the fit first. Well, 20 minutes of seam-ripping later, I cut off a tiny bit more length from the neck band and tried again, this time basting the pieces together. Nope, still too floppy. Rip, cut, sew, baste…. nope, still floppy but getting better, repeat, rip, repeat… PERFECT! Thank goodness this fabric is beefy and could handle all the abuse I put it through!

I made a straight size 40 this time, as compared to the 40-to-42 for my first Ondee. The fabric is stretchy enough, so sizing down at the waist wasn’t too bad. I like how it nips me in just a little. 😉

I’m digging this look for layering in the office as something different than just throwing a cardigan over my tops and dresses. This also means it makes my Seamwork Catarina Dress now work-appropriate!

I don’t get a whole lot of wear out of my Catarina because I’m not 100% sold on how the top part fits me. I think I made it too baggy. So, layering over it with a cropped pullover fixes everything!

I get so excited when I can wear not one, but TWO me-made items at once! I feel more ready than ever for this year’s Me-Made-May, especially since I’ll have a couple of jeans to play with this go-round. That’s right, I’m working on my second pair of Ginger Jeans!

I’m pretty happy I’ll get more use out of my Catarina, especially since it’s made in the most comfortable rayon of my life! That alone deserves some twirls…

So, how do you layer up at the office? Do you go super-professional with a blazer or keep it simple with a cardigan or pullover? Let me know! Tasso is patiently awaiting reading your comments, too!

-RED