Tablecloth or Top???

Yesterday I decided it was time to tackle another ME project with the knits I bought on my NYC trip. Its been getting hotter and steamier and really feeling like true summer so why not a picnic?
This yellow and white giant check cotton jersey from MOOD seemed quite appropriate.

I had these two patterns laying idle for just such a day and decided to combine features of each. I chose the very simple A view (purple in pic) from the McCalls 6960. The photoed one is great but not  in this fabric for sure. I added the little flutter sleeve from view D of the New Look 0190 which is not a pattern suggested for knits.

 Laying the fabric out for cutting I experienced a dilemma. The check is printed slightly off grain. When folding  the center front fold the lines don't match up. Oh well. I went with a nice straight center front. It didn't prove to be a real problem.

The I eliminated the front and back facings. They would look clunky in this lightweight fabric and complicate adding the little sleeve.

Stay-stitching the neckline.

After serving the shoulder seams and slipping this over my head I saw I had the same problem I always encounter due to my height (or lack of). The v-neck  and the underarm were going to expose my under garments. I should have adjusted the pattern ahead of time but when I held the tissue pattern up to my body it didn't seem so bad. Easy fix. I re-serged below the previous stitching.

                                                  Then re-trimmed the back neck a bit.

Blech! That ironing table cover is disgusting. Thats the spot that gets used the most. The rest of it looks great

I did my first non-practice rolled edge with my serger. I'm OK with it but when photographing it, hubby said he thought it wasn't finished.

                   This is the strip for the neck-band. The darker side is going to be the exposed side.

I used the stretch stitch on my sewing machine since the V neck turn was not going to work very well on the serger. After getting it set in place I did go back and serger the raw edged to clean them up. Forgot to take a picture.

The whole underarm was now unfinished since I didn't use the facing. I was able to turn it under and using a wide double needle I faked a nice coverstitch.  

                        Wondertape stabilizes the hem which is sewed with double needle method.

                                                  Here it is on my display mannequin which is not really my size.*

                                        And here it is outside in the glorious sunshine.

Its so dazzling out here that I am wearing my giant sunglasses that are in the frames I bought at the NYC flea market in May. Also I didn't have to bother putting on eye make-up for the shoot!

*I'm thinking of trying to alter the mannequin to make it a real fitting model. The padding out here and there won't be too hard but her shoulders exceed mine by slightly more than 2 inches. How would I whittle them down?