Getting trendy

The final challenge on the monthly stitch indie pattern month is a RTW copycat challenge. While I don't really follow fashion, I am as influenced as anyone else by what's around me and there are certain trends that I can really get on board with.  The high waisted look is one I like and feel is flattering so as my inspiration outfit I chose this one from Elle magazine, from an article on how to style high waisted shorts this summer.  Really I was just drawn to the colour combos and floral pattern!

While I loved the combination I was unsure about whether I'd get much wear out of a pair of high waisted shorts. I don't really wear shorts all that much (particularly when our summer is being quite so pathetic). However I thought a high waisted mini skirt would create the look well and it gave me an excuse to buy a pattern I'd been lusting after for ages; the Tilly and the buttons Arielle skirt.

I made up the skirt in a stretch cotton I'd bought on Goldhawk Road. Those of you who stop by here regularly (and have good memories) will notice that it's the same one I used to make up my maxi skirt a few weeks ago.

The buttons are some lovely clear ones that I bought on my recent trip to Amsterdam.  The busy fabric means that the button detailing gets a little bit lost but I didn't want to make the skirt too overpowering by adding some statement buttons.

The top is my Flora hack from last week's challenge, while it's clearly not identical to the inspiration top, I felt it conveyed the cropped and very white, summer top, that seems to be everywhere this year.

You may have noticed that it is quite clearly not me in these photos. Somewhere along the path of making my carefully considered RTW copycat, my sister came to visit and suddenly this outfit became her outfit! I don't really know how this happened or how I ended up altering the skirt at 10pm one Sunday night so that she could wear it to work the next day. I never really understand how these kind of things happen in our relationship but somehow they just do!

Anyway, I probably didn't need two skirts in the same fabric in my wardrobe and it's nice seeing her get pleasure out of something I've made.  She stuck to her end of the bargain; of acting as my model for these photos and its nice to have photos of someone who is a lot better at modelling than I am and also has the useful knack of not shutting her eyes in 2/3 photos which is what I do! We took these on a recent trip to Bristol and managed to take these photos in between rain showers and visiting every charity shop in Bristol!  Sadly as the British summer time is not coming up to scratch at all, my sister had to model the outfit with tights (and really hideous shoes), so it's not quite the super summery outfit I had planned.

I now need to get planning my own Arielle!  Why should my sister be the only one with a great skirt?

Flora hack top

This top is one I've been meaning to make for a while. Probably since I saw the hack post on the BHL blog.  I've just checked and the date of this post is May 2014, that's a long time to think on a top! 

Anyway, having finally got myself organised to make this top, I pretty much followed the instructions on the blog.  As the instructions are nice and clear and illustrated with photographs, there's not a huge amount to say about the method. 

I made a couple of changes, firstly, I added 5cm in length to the bodice. I knew I needed to do this from a previous attempt of the wrap dress. I have a long torso so this is a standard alteration for me however, this is still a very short top, definitely crop top length.  This was what I wanted, to go with high waisted skirts/trousers, however just be warned if you want a slightly longer wrap top.    

I used a Swiss dot cotton that I picked up on Goldhawk Road. It's really fine so I would have had to line it whatever I used it for, so this Flora top was perfect as the instructions have you line the Flora bodice.  Instead of using ribbons as instructed by the tutorial, I made a couple of ties out of the fabric.  These were pretty easy to create and I think work better than a ribbon would have done with this particular top, although next time I might use a fancy ribbon as I love the version that the BHL girls made.   I made each of the ties about 80cm each which means I can tie them at the side or behind. 

While I love the idea of this as a wrap top, I think I'm actually going to stitch it shut as having worn it all day, I did spend a fair amount of time flashing my bra and was glad that I had opted to wear a scarf most of the day.  The scarf is a hand painted silk one that was a birthday gift from a friend of my dad's.  She even personalised it and there is a '30' hidden in the swirls on the scarf!  Thanks Laura.



This is my entry for Indie sewing month's 'hack it' competition.  You should head over and check out all the other awesome things that people have hacked.

Birthday dress

So Monday was my 30th birthday! Everyone knows a birthday needs a new dress and since I had recently just bought this amazing pencil print cotton poplin from Libertys, I decided to go down the really grown up route and make a dress with little pencils on it to enter my fourth decade in! 

In what is now becoming a bit of a birthday tradition, I used the Deer and Doe Belladone for my birthday dress. Last years dress can be seen here. 

Aside from lengthening the bodice, which is a standard alteration for me, although I could have done with adding another cm or 2, I didn't make any changes to the pattern. I used a pink cotton from my stash for the binding. This cotton has been exclusively used for binding Belladones, since I also used it for last years version too.  I also used it to create some piping which I sewed either side of the waistband and I like the definition that this gives to the waistband.

There's not a lot else to say about this dress apart from it being awesome and I could develop a serious Liberty fabric habit based on these last 2 makes!  Again, I wore this make on my lovely birthday trip to Amsterdam and I felt really great floating around Amsterdam in this dress.

I loved Amsterdam and really recommend it as a destination for anyone who hasn't been.  It's just so pretty and also everyone seems so chilled out ( and not just because of the cannabis!)  There are lots of lovely museums, markets and canals and we had a lovely few days just wandering the streets.

As an added bonus there are several fabric shops and a fabric market in Amsterdam.  The market is on a Monday morning-what better way for a sewist to spend their birthday?  I properly blew any chance of stashbusting at this market.

So far my 30s have been filled with holidays, family, friends and fabric, it really has not been too bad. If the next decade pans out this well, I'll be very happy!