It’s another month and time for the next Tabula Rasa Jacket (TRJ) riff. For the first installment, I went pretty much “out of the envelope” with this Fit for Art Patterns design and did the as-drafted banded neckline when making my beach cover-up. For the second installment, I added a center-front opening with a raised neckline and collar for my bowling shirt. For this third iteration, I closed up the front altogether and made a pullover-style top.

A promising remnant

I have had this piece of fabric for a long time. I think it has been moved to at least three different houses and made it through numerous fabric stash culls. It has taken on the preciousness of time.

It was a remnant when I got it. There was less than a yard and never enough for the intended garment when I would pull it out of the cupboard. I thought it might get relegated to “binding” for another fabric. The stripes are horizontal, which is unusual for a woven fabric, and somehow it made me think of Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show (age broadcast alert). I pictured a ballet neckline and cropped hem with ankle pants and a flipped-up hairdo.

As my mentor, Diane Ericson, says, “What are you saving it for? Use the good stuff.” The fabric’s time had come.

I knew the TRJ panels would be lots of fun using a striped fabric. Because of my wee yardage, having them run in different directions would make the best use of my scant one yard of fabric.

Pattern prep

To prepare my pattern, I made a fold at the center front and widened my new raised neckline to accommodate my head without…