Thursday 17 September 2015

An entirely handmade outfit

 My staple of handmade items to this point has been dresses, but I am beginning to dream of many summer separates. I am itching to hand in my thesis so I can have days of uninterrupted sewing. However, my days are currently more filled with referencing, and questions of twelfth century English identity through historiography.

Last Saturday night I decided to just sew something. I needed a break. I only had a metre of this absolutely beautiful floral fabric. It's Japanese, and the hand of it feels almost like Liberty lawn. I bought it at a fabric market last year. I wanted something simple, so I decided to modify the bodice of BHL's Anna dress, one of my TNT patterns.







I cut both front and back on the fold, and added about five inches to the length. This was dictated by the limited amount of fabric. I just extended down the pleats. It was a incredibly quick sew. I finished the neck with bias tape, and put in a side invisible zip. I always wear things tucked in, so the hem is actually the selvage. Very pleased with myself I then ran into a significant fitting problem. I hadn't graded out the hips. I am very much a pear shape, and the blouse no had hips narrower than my waist. There was no way this was fitting. I thought about adding a peplum, but in the end the fix was quite simple. I unpicked all the pleats and darts to their original lengths, creating enough room in the hips. I was incredibly relieved. I then also made a matching hair scarf. It's a little thinner than my previous ones, so it was a bit more a struggle to catch in all my thick hair, but it worked!

The skirt was made a few months ago. The pattern is Simplicity 6862, a one metre, four gore 1970's skirt pattern. This will certainly be a TNT. The fabric is a light weight pink wool. I didn't line it to make it a quicker make; I have a very large collection of slips as it is.

So there is the first of my summer sewing projects. I have a new outfit, and all the pieces will be able to be mixed and matched as well.

12 comments:

  1. Both are beautiful, but especially the blouse. Such pretty fabric.

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    1. Thanks :) I'm going to get a lot of wear out of both pieces

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  2. And what an entirely beautiful one it is. Love, love, and love some more. From the cut of the garments themselves to the sweet, beautiful fabrics/colours, this whole outfit is simply delightful and looks fantastic on you, honey.

    Big hugs,
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thanks Jessica. Means a lot, especially as you're one of the best at know at putting together an outfit

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  3. Lovely ensemble. I love that blouse fabric...so pretty!

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    1. I know right? Fabrics like these make me happy

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  4. hi Kaitlyn! just to let you know I've nominated you for the liebster award, which you can read here: http://sewingsoothesthesoul.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/the-liebster-award.html. thank you for your lovely blog :)

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  5. That blouse is beautiful, what glorious fabric!

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    1. Thankyou :) It feels amazing to wear, as well as being so pretty, so it's a double win

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  6. Such a pretty outfit! The blouse fabric is beautiful! I love rose fabrics. The skirt coordinates perfectly.

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    1. Thankyou :) Luckily this skirt goes with a few blouses I am planning on making

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