Oh, Inari, how you’ve stolen my heart. This fabric has been patiently waiting to be made up for over 8 months. It came about when Vickie Hallmark came to visit with her dyes and we decided to experiment with some linens that weren’t flattering for my skin tone. What did I have to lose?

Turns out, those happy mistakes- the ones like forgetting to serge the cut ends to avoid tangling in the washing machine- are the ones we end up loving the most. At least, it certainly turned out that way for this fabric. It was originally a pale aqua, then Vickie put in soda ash and that made it slightly gray. Then we added the fuchsia dye and it turned into this organic/psychedelic piece of lovely hand-dyed linen.

Research was a lifesaver, since a lot have mentioned problems with arm mobility and taking height from the sleeve and armscye seemed to help. Find more fitting help on Gail’s blog, she posted plenty of pics for the visual learners among us.

It’s not perfect, but it’s loved regardless. There is some gorgeous Liberty of London burning a hole in my stash waiting to be used for another Inari.  Size and fit details:

Size 42, with 3″ added in length since I’m 5’8-1/2″ tall. 1″ was added below the underarms, then 2″ added below the hip lengthen/shorten line. My current measurements are around 39/32/40. Took out nearly an inch in sleeve height and armscye.

The sleeves were a piece of cake, I had made a mountain out of a mole hill worrying about puckers, etc., but they went in perfect the first time. Normally, I always try to sew sleeves flat and then sew the sides and underarm seam at the same time. But if I don’t practice, I won’t improve and this was a fabulously drafted sleeve. The easing within the seam allowance probably helped, as well.