The Hazelwood Top

After wearing pretty much only tunics for quite some time I seem to have developed an interest in short tops. From one extreme to the other, I suppose. Not sure though if the love is being returned, as my rear end is somewhat generous and a short top does nothing to hide that. But I have been looking for a bit of a change and it definitely is that. So when I came across the Tessuti Hazelwood top I thought I would give it a go.

 

The skinny jeans are not my style, being a pronounced pear they definitely don’t do me any favours, as much as I like the look on others. But I thought that my wider, Oska style pants might be quite a good combination.

What possessed me to leave off the cowl I really do not know, it was one of the things that attracted me to the pattern in the first place. Fortunately I block printed some extra fabric to give me the option of adding the cowl later and I think I will. It needs a little more oomph, probably because the tunics I am used to wearing have a lot more of a ‘presence’ visually, almost like a dress, but a short top is just that, a top and pants. That has much less of the appearance of a complete outfit, and adding a jacket is not an really option. almost too hot right now and it is not going to get any colder as we go into summer.

What I do like is the block print though.

For the print I re-used a block I already had, so that was a quick and easy job. Here is the top I made the first time I used this block.

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The Mandy Boat Neck Tee

Tessuti are one of my favourite pattern makers, and I don’t mind shouting it from the roof tops in the hope that it will encourage them to make more and more fabulous patterns. A pattern maker whose taste aligns with mine is a gift from heaven.  The other company that comes up with patterns I love is StyleArc, and both these companies offer PDF downloads, which is great. These days to go to a shop to look through the pattern drawers to find the one I want, which is often sold out, is something I avoid like the plague. A bonus is that the patterns printed at home use up the pile of misprints that collect around the printers in the office, something which appeals to my frugal self that doesn’t like waste.

But let’s get back to my topic today, the Mandy.

The Mandy is an oversized tee, clearly designed for striped jerseys, and I do like that look. However, to try the pattern I repurposed a wadder I had made a couple of years ago, a very voluminous tunic that looked pretty disastrous when it was finished. The jersey was to plain, to beefy to drape nicely and too yuk on its own for the wide expanse of the style. It would have needed a fabric that did all the talking to look good, and this one wasn’t it. I kept it because I thought there was enough fabric to make something else, and I am so glad I did.

Talk about ugly duckling to swan! The beefy fabric suited the Mandy so much better, the inky blue I disliked on its own looked transformed combined with the black print, and the result is now a firm favourite in my wardrobe.

The low contrast between the dark blue and the black is ideal for block printing, because it hides the fact that this technique can look a bit scrappy. The rubber block does not deposit as much ink on the fabric as one would like, leaving a few specks of some motifs uncovered or transparent, and a high contrast colour combination can really highlight this unfavourably. Block printing also tends to produce a few ‘oopsies’, where a bit of ink is deposited where it should not be. This of course depends on the skill and concentration of the operator, and I don’t know what this says about me, but I find that there are always a couple of spots somewhere. Dark-on-dark or light-on-light makes these shortcomings far less noticeable. It is also better if your design does not have too many big, solid areas where a nice even coating of colour is desirable. A design with thin-ish lines close together seems to be better suited to block printing.

The only mistake I made was that I cut this Mandy too long, as I realised later when I was forced into a shorter version due to lack of fabric. Fortunately this is easily fixed.

Here is the shorter version, 55cm long on my 161cm frame.

This time the print is stencilled on, the first time I have done large scale stencilling with a design covering the entire garment. I am still experimenting with stencil mediums, this time I used clear plastic meant for covering textbooks. I thought the adhesive side would help making sure there would be no bleeding outside the stencil lines, and the grid on the backing paper helped with even placement of the motifs.

The adhesive proved to be a disappointment, as it did not stick to the fabric very well, but being careful to apply the ink with the foam roller from the edge of each motif to the middle produced nice clean edges anyway. I might try another stencil medium next time. The freezer paper I have is in sheets and too small for a whole garment, but you can buy large sheets of stencil plastic. This is not sticky, but it’s stiffness will hopefully mean that loose edges in the design, such as the small strips separating the ‘fish bones’, do not stick to the roller and flip up as the roller is moved back and forth. I will report back after I have tried it, being designed for the express purpose of stencilling might just mean it will work better than the random stuff I grab and press into service, haha.

More pics below. Excuse the odd blurring on my face on the first one, my camera does this sometimes, it is not intended. It’s a good shot of the top, so I will use it anyway.

Details about the sewing process are on PatternReview.

The Trouble with Perfect Patterns

I use almost exclusively so-called TNT (Tried aNd True) patterns, patterns I have used over and over where I know that the result will be a success. It makes sewing quick and easy and my wardrobe preferences are very much simple styles anyway. Good on you, sewist who are adventurous and like to try out the new and unusual, or who are keen to stretch your skills. I salute you and I admire you, but you are a foreign species to me.

There are those focused on detail, and those who see only the big picture. I am the latter, what matters to me is the look of the whole outfit. That needs to look professional, but the individual sewing techniques used to achieve this don’t matter much to me. I know I can do welt pockets if required, but my ambitions vere off into different directions entirely.

But back to TNT patterns. I have 3-4 top or tunic patterns, 3 dress patterns, 2 pants and 2 skirt patterns that are my staples. I sew something most weekends, so I have quite a few of each, but the fabrics make all the difference and only other sewists would notice that I use patterns over and over. As we are a rare breed these days there are not many in my real world orbit. Most non-sewing people would see it as personal style.

But sometimes I use a pattern so much, because it is stylish, flattering, economical with fabric, quick to make and oh, so very useful to sew down what I have in my stash, that even I have to admit that I have done it to death. Alas, my self-developed tunic pattern, with a swing hemline and side vents has been a firm favourite this past year summer and winter for both wovens and knits, and consequently is now in that category. I have posted about it here, here and here. May it rest now in peace.

Thankfully I have found a couple of patterns for tops that have sparked my imagination and may take its place. A little early to tell, I need to see how much I like wearing them over time.  They are both Tessuti patterns, who are one of my very favourite pattern makers. Quite a few of their patterns have been absolute gems, like the Eva and Lily dresses, the Jac shirt and the Fave Top. The latter in particular has been an obsession, that has now thankfully passed, but not before I made a gazillion versions in every conceivable fabric. My summer wardrobe is still full of them.

The Tessuti Mandy top has now captured my interest. It is still in my preferred oversized style, but a little more restrained than some of my wilder flights of fancy when I was in the grip of Tina Givens and Co.

The Tessuti Hazelwood top is not so much oversized as swing, a little short, but I love the look. Time will tell if I feel comfortable wearing it, and I’m sure I never will with skinny pants as pictured. I usually like to hide my bum as much as possible, and the new wide, cropped pants or culottes this might be a better option for me.

So watch this space for my version of these two. They would make a nice canvas for block printing too.

The Jac Shirt

I do love Tessuti patterns and have made their Jac shirt several times now. The first time I made it as per pattern and it turned out fine. However, I can never resist fiddling with a pattern, and have since settled on some modifications for further versions.

As you can see in the pic above, I have added some ‘swing’ to the back of the shirt by tilting the back pattern piece away from the fold of the fabric when cutting out. This leaves the top part unchanged so it will still fit the collar and shoulders, but adds volume at the CB hem. You can’t really see that I have lengthened it by 5cm too, but here is my original make for comparison, sewn as per pattern. I am wearing it with harem pants, in case you are wonderin what the funny garment is.

Nothing wrong with this version of the Jac, except I am probably acclimatised to the volume of Lagenlook, so I prefer a bit more swing and length, especially when the shirt is worn open as a light jacket. A bit more length also lets the shirt tails peak out from under my jumpers, which I quite like. One thing I have discovered though, lengthening does not look so good without a simultaneous increase in volume at the hem, as you can see with the version, below, cut from the good parts of another worn out doona cover. I have used only the collar stand for a grandpa style collar variation. It is sort of ok, but not quite, without the swing at the back.

 

The original green version is silk dupioni, which has lost some of its shine and acquired a subtle distressed look after a few years of being worn and washed. Just right for a casual shirt, and I don’t do dry cleaning in any case. All my silks are washed, usually with shampoo as that is formulated for protein fibres, which both human hair and silk are, but in the machine and without fuss. I line dry everything, using my dryer only in emergencies, and to cure my hand-printed projects. All my silks so far have coped very well with this treatment. I don’t cater to primadonna fabrics, except maybe for very special occasion garments like my MOB and MOG dresses, and they get worn only once anyway.

The blue striped fabric is a batik bought in Bali, originally grey and white striped, which had an encounter with the dye pot. Unfortunately I got distracted and forgot to agitate for about an hour, which is a big no-no if you want an even result. So it is a bit blotchy, but thankfully that is not very noticeable due to judicious cutting out. I really like the colour, and with winter around the corner, under jumpers only the collar and tails will be visible in any case.

Regarding the sleeves, I am not a huge fan of traditional sleeve plackets and cuffs. They are useful if you want to roll up your sleeves, but I never do. At least, when wearing the shirts where I have made plackets and cuffs, I don’t remember rolling them up even once. So, being a lazy sewist, I ask myself if the extra time making this is worth it. The Jac has a bracelet length sleeve with a notched hem that can be folded back into a 3/4 length sleeve with a notched cuff. I have lengthened the sleeve to make the full length in shirts I want to wear in winter under jumpers, to avoid potentially scratchy wool around my inner wrists. More about the sewing nitty-gritty on PatternReview.

And here is one more version of the Jac shirt, this time collarless for summer, again in a cotton batik. Like the other versions, it works really well as a light jacket.

The Eva Dress on the Straight and Narrow

 

I have used the Eva bodice and sleeves for so many of my frankenpattern projects, and yet I don’t believe I have ever shown an Eva dress sewn as the designer intended it to look. Let me fix that today!

 

These are the very first Eva dresses I ever made, one sleeveless and the other with short sleeves. The red is a fairly hefty linen, originally a tangerine/peach and later, when it began to look a bit washed out, overdyed to cranberry red. The grey was my wearable muslin, repurposed from an old doona cover my son left behind when he first moved out of home to go overseas and work in Amsterdam. I missed him, but that I cut up his bed linen to wear because of that is a vicious rumour!  🙂

Anyway, the doona cover originally came from the ‘As Is’ bin at IKEA, so using it for the, at that time, still untried Eva pattern was not a huge gamble in financial terms. It is quite a nice light grey cotton jacquard, a little discoloured from wear in certain places, but there was plenty of fabric to cut around those areas. I believe there may even be still enough left for a pair of pants, but that is a project for another day.

I made this version of the Eva straight out of the packet as far as the pattern is concerned, although of course it was a PDF, so no packet involved. The only changes I made was to forego the bias bound hem at the bottom and the sleeves. A narrow, topstitched hem is very doable despite the curves. Besides extra fabric, bias tape takes time and effort, and I felt I had expended quite enough of that with all the piecing and topstitching required for the skirt sections. I even made the pockets, which I don’t use of course. I never use pockets, unlike a lot of other people who find them indispensable. For me they are only indispensable for forgetting the odd used tissue in, which then causes me hassles in the wash, so I usually leave them off.

I really like the result. The grey jacquard looks quite classy ( — ok, so it is an old doona cover but nobody need ever know!) and it suits the lovely lines of the Eva very well.

 

The dark red Eva is quite a heavy linen and hardly crushes at all since I overdyed it. Score! I should overdye a few more linens to get that effect!

Details about the sewing process are on Pattern Review.

Dyed and Reborn

I am not a great believer in reincarnation, except when it comes to fabric in the dye pot. Many a tired looking garment or unpromising piece of fabric has experienced a chemical rebirth in my kitchen over the years and been all the better for it. This dress is a case in point. The crepe de chine is quite luscious, but started life as a rather insipid black and white print. Insipid because the white was not a really a bright optical white which I think is essential for a black and white combination to look good. And so it languished in my stash until I decided that what it really wanted to be was an electric blue.

However, if you want a happy dyeing experience it is really important to use  good quality dyes. If it is done right, your dyed garments will look good for a long time and not fade or run in the wash.  I use fibre reactive dyes and have written about the details of the process in earlier posts here and here.

I only had 2m of the crepe de chine and it was a border print as well, which did not leave a lot of room to manoeuvre. I fell back on my favourite dress style for border prints, a semi-fitted empire bodice and a pleated skirt. The skirt is a rectangle, pleated to fit the bodice, with a flange to cover the join. A 2m wide skirt is not very twirlable, 3m would have been better, but it had to do. In any case I don’t have a lot of occasions to twirl about in my very ordinary everyday life. 🙂

For the bodice I decided on an ancient pattern piece that has just the right amount of ease to slip into without needing a closure, which I have used many times because that is such a boon. I have no problem with installing zippers, but not needing one does away with having to find one that matches, and the additional ease of the looser bodice makes for great wearing comfort. Inconveniently the old pattern did not come with sleeves, so I needed to hybridise it with the Eva dress armscyes to use the short sleeves from that pattern. Last year I hated short sleeves and this year I can’t get enough of them, go figure.

For a more detailed description of the sewing process, have a look at my write-up on Pattern Review.

So here is the dress. The last photo shows it teamed with a Ponte bolero which is very practical during the change of season and I will blog about it soon.

My camera is back in action, which means I can take photos again in my favourite spot in front of my (– imprisoned because of the freeloading beasties –) herb patch. With my phone the brightness of the garden behind did not work at all, although as you can see from the last photo, when the sun comes out in the middle of the day the camera does not cope either. But at least at either end of the day, or when it is overcast, I can again take my pictures in this convenient spot where the neighbours can’t see me prancing about in front of the camera, and it is a bit nicer than my bathroom door as a backdrop.

Bubble Dress Mark II

So I had another go at perfecting my bubble dress. This one is frankenpatterned using two Tessuti patterns, the Eva bodice and the Lily skirt part.

Instead of cutting the bodice and upper skirt in one piece as I did with the last bubble dress, I decided on a separate empire bodice, fitted, but just loose enough for me to be able to slip the dress over my head without needing a zipper. For the rest I thought the circular upper skirt and inverted circular lower skirt were still basically a sound solution. The addition of an inverted box pleat at CF and CB would control the volume below the bust but release it lower down for the skirt. This proved to be quite a good approach. For variety I also added some short sleeves, just a little longer in length than a cap sleeve.

The picture above shows the copied off skirt piece from the Lily. Any voluminous A-line skirt will do, or if you are confident you can draft it yourself. This will become the upper part of the skirt.  The bottom circumference is around 65cm. Cut this out twice for front and back on the fold. I actually place  the pattern piece about 5cm away from the fold to make the skirt even more voluminous. (You need to do this both with the upper and lower pattern piece, to keep the circumferences where you are going to join both pieces the same.)

Then you draw a line 30cm parallel to the bottom edge and cut along this. You can see in the photo below where I have already done this, resulting in a wide piece which is flipped over vertically and will become the lower part of the skirt. I have tapered this inwards at the side seams and added 16 tucks around the hem, clustered both sides of the side seams, to take it in further. I think I should have used deeper darts, not just tucks. Elastic would have done a similar job, just more evenly all around. I might do that next time.

As I have already mentioned, I made the upper edge of the skirt fit the lower bodice edge by means of a very deep inverted box pleat. While I was sewing this I was a little worried that it might result in the dreaded pregnant look, but having tried it on I don’t think so. Ironically no pregnant women wants to be seen dead in a smock these days, everyone is determined to show that they are still slim above and below the bulge. Not a problem, leave the smocks to those of us who want to be cool and comfortable!

I must say I am rather pleased with the result of this experiment, it looks very much like I have a new TNT. The only further improvements I can think of is deeper hem darts and perhaps a flange at the bottom of the empire bodice, but the latter is not essential. The linen I used has a loose-ish weave and so the empire seam turned out slightly shaped, being pulled down at CF by the weight of the box pleat. You could call it wonky but I rather like the effect.

Talking of the linen, it started life as a remnant of a boring cross weave in light yellow and cream. After an encounter with my dye pot is is a nice textured turquoise. I think I may have been naughty and did not wash it properly prior to dyeing, because it didn’t take the colour all that well, but there was enough fabric to cut around the streaks and lighter patches and it looks quite respectable.

I was also worried it would be the kind of linen you have to iron every time you want to wear it, and still it would look like a rag after a couple of hours, but it is actually not too bad. I took some of the photos at the end of a work day and it looks ok.

I am still searching for a good spot to take decent photos. The garden looks nicest, but the mozzies are fierce right now and they really love me. So eventually I had to retreat back to the bathroom. Better luck next time.

 

 

 

Linked to RUMS

 

Bubble Dress

 

While I have been writing about variations of the Tessuti Lily dress I think I might show one that wasn’t 100% successful. I made it a couple of years back and it is not a disaster, actually I have worn it quite a lot, but casting a critical eye over it I think I might do things a little differently if I make something like this again.

While the pretty fabric of this dress rather saves it from languishing unloved in my wardrobe, it falls a bit short of the grand vision I had. What I was aiming for was a bubble dress, of the sort Rundholz does so very well.

 

So let’s analyse what went awry with my attempt.

Clearly, looking at these pictures, the Rundholz bodices are much more close fitting than mine. I dislike tight clothing and don’t want to go as far as that, but there must be a happy medium. I think my dress could easily have been a bit more fitted above the waist without being too restricting.

The other difference is the dramatic volume of the skirt. I know that Rundholz is fond of tulle petticoats to achieve this signature look and I can see one peeking out in a few of the photos. But as I have no intention of prancing about in tulle petticoats, anything that cannot be achieved in other ways is probably beyond my reach. A fairly substantial, non drapey fabric is a good start, as it will hold the bubble shape fairly well. I used quite a hefty cotton elastane for this dress, which is not bad. Bringing it in more at the hem with a couple of pleats or tucks would help too. In addition I could have made a lining, shorter than the dress and narrower, and attached the hem of the dress to that. With a sleeveless summer dress meant for hot weather a lining is not necessarily welcome, but for another season it would be fine.

What would improve the silhouette further would be more of a contrast between bodice and skirt to accentuate the bubble. A princess seam in the bodice where more volume can be added to the skirt part, or vertical darts from below the bust to the waist or high hip, taking in volume there, would do that nicely. Or possibly a separate bodice with the skirt pleated into that to achieve more volume. I think Rundholz uses all these techniques.

I definitely overdid the width of the A-line with this dress, at least between bust and waist, because it has to flare out so much at the side to get to such a wide circumference by the time it hits the horizontal seam. More restraint overall without any other modifications would have looked better, I think. I will have to experiment to find out if this is true. A large scale grey paisley is already earmarked for this, which is more in keeping with the Rundholz colour scheme of grey or black or both. Bit out of place for summer, but eminently suitable for autumn.

I have documented the sewing process of this current dress on Pattern Review and with the modifications outlined above I might get a little closer to my goal next time.

 

 

And a bit more Rundholz eye candy…

A looser bodice can work with the right pattern. This dress looks like it has princess seams which allow more width to be added to the skirt not only at the side seams but the princess seams as well. A band at the bottom pulling in the hem produces a gentle bubble shape. Something to think about.

A different take by Moruyu, again with a looser bodice. The skirt part is very wide and shaped, methinks, only at the side seams. This should look baggy by all my rules, but I know from other pictures that the model is very petite, so maybe that makes a difference. Or maybe she is holding this skirt the way she does for a reason, her elbows pushing in the dress at the waist…

 

 

Sticking to the Basics

Some sewists really enjoy the challenge of exploring new patterns and mastering advanced techniques. Not me! I am really more into the overall look of an outfit than into technical excellence in my sewing, and if I can get away with something simple to achieve my ends I will run a mile from complicated.

Fortunately I am into the Japanese Lagenlook aesthetic of simple and uncluttered, and fiddly details just don’t attract me. I also like wearing comfort and no longer want to tolerate anything tight or restricting. To me tailored garments very much fit into that category. I suppose that over the years I have learnt to sew what I like to wear, and to a point have learnt to like what is easy and quick to sew. Which side has made more of an accommodation than the other is hard to tell.

Pattern companies need to sell patterns to make money, and people who enjoy sewing also enjoy browsing patterns and consequently end up buying lots. I personally think that my sewing does not benefit from being driven by new patterns, especially not by the patterns offered by the Big 4. I prefer to start with fashion shots of garments I like, often on Pinterest or designer websites. Then I go looking for a pattern to achieve that look. Almost always I can adapt one of the basic patterns I already have.

That small number of patterns is all I need to cover 90% of the garments I make. Two skirts, 2 pants, 2-3 woven shirts, 2 knit tops and 3 dress patterns have actually, over time, resulted in a rather gargantuan wardrobe with something to wear for every occasion. The fabrics I have used make all the difference between super casual and special occasion, winter or summer.

These patterns are my TNTs (Tried N True) because I know they suit me and will turn out so I can be happy with the result. Having made them many times before and knowing all the ins and outs is a bonus, and I can vary each one just enough to get the look I am after and avoid a strong personal style turning into ‘same old same old’.

The sleeveless version of the Tessuti Lily, a simple A-line dress, is probably my most basic pattern and I have made it many times in all sorts of incarnations. I have blogged about this here in a previous post. That was 3 years ago and I am still finding ways to use this pattern for something new.

This post is about my latest version, somewhat lengthened from the original and with a short overblouse adapted from yet another one of my TNT patterns, the Tessuti Jac shirt. The inspiration was something like this top by Bryn Walker, although my version has short sleeves and not as many layers.

To make the top I extended the fronts of the Jac shirt past the mid line, about half way towards the side seams, so they would overlap. Much like a double breasted shirt, except I skipped the buttons. I stitched the fronts to each other at the neck edge and instead of the collar I widened the neck to a circumference of around 70cm and added a cowl. The sleeves were shortened and folded back to form a cuff. I also shortened the top to waist length.

I modified the neckline of the Lily from a boat neck to round, as a boat neck can be problematic with bra straps. I also used normal sleeveless armscyes from another pattern instead of the cutaway shoulders, because nobody needs to get a good look at the little rolls of fat in my armpits. 🙂

The dress can be worn sleeveless or with this top when it is a little cooler. I quite like the look of the top and am planning a couple more to wear over other sleeveless tunics or dresses when the weather gets cooler again. There is no need for them to match, just plain ones that coordinate will do the job. I think this style will also work for winter in a Ponte or merino knit, possibly with long sleeves. A variation could be to leave off the cowl, as I wear a lot of scarves in winter. That opens up the possibility of closing the fronts with a button at the neck edge, and if they are not stitched down they can also be left to hang open.

 

 

 

RUMS

 

Easy-Peasy Batik

Batik is a wonderful fabric for hot weather, and we sure are in the middle of summer right now and it is HOT. We had the hottest day since 1938 in Sydney yesterday, so I am really grateful it was a Sunday and I didn’t have to work. It was so hot that some of my tomatoes got partially cooked on the vine! I spent the afternoon with my little granddaughter playing around in her paddling pool and it was absolutely delightful.

When i spend time with my grandchildren the last thing I want is to have to worry about my clothes. Something that will crushed or show up little sticky finger marks just won’t cut it and batiks are a winner in that respect as well as keeping me cool.

No problem with the fabric then with this tunic, but on the sewing side there was a bit of a history, illustrating the vital importance of proportion. I have had to remake this tunic twice to get it right. I used the Tessuti Lily dress (https://www.tessuti-shop.com/products/lily-linen-dress-pattern) which is one of my TNT patterns, shortening it a bit and modifying the cut away armscyes to regular ones, and all should have been well. But unfortunately I fell into my usual trap of trying to use up all the fabric at my disposal, as I hate waste. Much as I think frugality is laudable that was a bad idea in this case, as the tunic ended up not only too wide but also far too long. I could have shortened it and taken some volume out of the side seams, but that would have been too easy. So I let it marinate over winter to see what could be done to improve it.

In the meantime I had seen these dresses with tucks on Pinterest.

That gave me the idea to do similar tucks into front and back to take out length. I angled them a little and made them deepest at CF and CB, petering out to nothing and meeting up at the side seams. Sort of a very shallow moon shaped dart on the outside, front and back. This was not as visible on my batik as it would have been on plain fabric, but I still liked it and it solved part of my problem.

Not all of it though, as you can see in this photo.

I think the tunic is still too long, and the pants possibly too short. To improve the proportions I decided to fold up the hem at the side seam. You make a a small fabric loop at the hem and sew on a button about 15-20cm up from the hem along the side seam, then hook the loop over the button. The front and back hem hang free as before, more or less. You could just stitch it, but this way you can unbutton for ironing, which may or may not be needed at some stage. It also allows me to have one side up and the other down, or both down worn with leggings instead of the wide pants.

(view on the inside with part of the hem folded upwards at the side)

I also relaxed the elastic in the pants so they would sit on the hips, not the waist, which brought them closer to the fashionable new length of just-above-the-ankle.

Its probably not the most spectacular outfit I have ever made, but I am much happier with the proportions now. I will get a lot of wear out of it, precisely because it doesn’t look too dressed up, and I won’t need to stress about a mark or two from grubby little fingers. Even a whole Vegemite sandwich would probably not be too noticeable smeared across this busy batik! 🙂