New Look A6053 A Bold Skirt

Put your sunglasses on!  I have another bright skirt to show you.  This fabric was also picked up in Oregon, at Jo-Ann's.  It is a medium weight (LOVE the weight and brightness) rayon.  I only bought one yard and it shrunk a couple of inches when I washed and dried it, and I found out that it had a hole in it.  Thankfully, neither of these two issues prevented me from making a simple A-line skirt.  The hole was about 6 inches from the selvage, so I was able to work around it.   The shrinking wasn't an issue, because I knew I wanted a swishy above knee skirt, so less than a yard was plenty of fabric.

I used New Look A6053, view E.  This is advertised as a two hour skirt, and it is easy.  There are two darts in the back for shaping, with a great tip in the instructions for making a dart with no "bubble" at the point.  The pattern calls for a regular zipper, but I inserted an invisible one.  The waist is finished with facing.  The hem is turned up 1 1/4 inch, and the skirt has not been lengthened.  This is the length of the shortest view, on my 5' 7" frame.  When I tissue measured the waistband I could see it would be about 1 inch too tight, so I added 1/4 to each side seam from about hip level up.  That was my only alteration on the size 10 pattern. 

Again, this is a skirt with simple lines, but in a bold print like this, it works!

You've seen the t-shirt earlier here.  Here is a close-up of the invisible zipper and finished waistband.

I wore this outfit to the movie "The Avengers" with my boys and a friend this afternoon...a super afternoon. Hope yours was too!  Have a great week everyone!

Burda 7509 Inspired by Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea blooms must have been what was on my mind when I decided to purchase this brightly colored second piece of Bali rayon during my recent trip to Oregon.  It has the exact shades of purple and coral in the plants I see around my neighborhood.  I have made it into another New Look 6153 skirt and paired it with a Burda 7509 bias cut sleeveless top made out of a bold shade of lightweight purple linen.

Even though this is a semi-fitted outfit with simple lines, I think the bold colors make it memorable.  It is also quite cool and comfortable.  The first time I made the top, I did not cut the pattern out on the bias, so I had to add a zipper to the side seam.  This time however, I made view B exactly according to the instructions and cut out a size 10.  I am surprised that the pattern would have you cut the front and back on a fold.  I didn't do this.  Instead, I laid it out flat, on the bias, by making a mirror image of the pattern. No alterations were needed, and the finished top slips on easily over my head.  The v-neck and armholes are finished with self-fabric bias strips.  There are also bust darts for shaping.  Here is a close-up view of the top.

I do like this top for ease of construction and wear-ability.  I would also like to make another, in linen, with the round neckline from view A.  Thanks for stopping by to have a look and for your comments on the last post.  I appreciated Gwen's tip to try the vest with a short skirt.  Already my mind is churning, and I hope to show it styled that way in the near future.  Happy Aloha Friday! 

Burda 7399 A New Vest

Aloha!  I've seen a couple of versions of this Burda 7399 vest here and here and decided it was time to pull out the pattern and make one for myself.

I used a magenta colored linen-cotton blend and made view A.  I constructed the pattern exactly as described (size 10) except for making my own self-fabric bias tubes for the front ties.  I like the seaming and topstitching details, but because there is a lot of both, this pattern does take some time and concentration to put together.  For most of the topstitching I also created flat fell seams to encase the raw edges on the inside.  Since I didn't have enough thread in this color to thread my serger, I finished the other raw edges with my pinking shears.  It is interesting how the front facing is what creates the pockets.  You topstitch across the bottom so that the pocket depth doesn't go all the way to the curve at the bottom.  This was a new design detail for me.

I've styled it with a simple mesh top I made quite a while ago and a pair of jeans.

 Here are some closer shots to show the bias cut lower half of the back,

the front with pockets,

and the side - high in the back low in the front design.  I'm not sure I like how high the back is.  However, I need to keep in mind the camera angle is a bit low.

Finally, a close-up of some of the top-stitching, front dart and pocket.  I think I will have fun coming up with interesting ways to wear this this summer.

One of My Favorites

Hello Again!

I've whipped up one of my favorite outfits today.  Every year I try to buy some more Bali rayon for these bias cut skirts.  I like to pair them with all kinds of knit tops.  The skirt fabric was picked up during my recent trip to Oregon at Fabric Depot.  The knit top is made from a drapey, light-weight, rayon/lycra, and I can't remember where I got it.  You've seen both the skirt and knit top before.  The skirt pattern is shown here, and the top here.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the fabric and top.  Since this knit has so much drape, I will have to be careful of the neckline when I wear it.  I definitely don't want to be bending forward and embarrass myself or others!  I love the bright blue and brown mix in this outfit.  On the top, the back neckline and armholes are finished with self-fabric strips which have been turned in and top-stitched.    

I generally finish these skirts with an elastic waistband so that I don't have the lumps that come with a drawstring waistband, and this one was no exception.  The hem on the knit top was finished with my coverstitch machine.

I'd love to introduce you to the sweet little lady who has been occupying my time these past couple of weeks. 

Her name is Freckles and we rescued her from the Maui Humane Society.  They estimate that she is 2.5 years old and is mostly Australian Cattle Dog.  She has the sweetest disposition, but is scared of everything.  It's taking quite a bit of time to acclimate her to our home, how to walk on a leash, where to go potty, etc.  I'm certain she has endured some trauma in her life, but I hope she will come out of it okay.  Today on our walk, she burst into a fear-fueled, crazed, frenzy when she saw a kite.  Good thing she is small enough that I can handle her when she needs to be calmed down.  In her own backyard she loves to run, play ball, and CHEW!  She has become quite attached to the boys and I.  She didn't make a peep for the first two weeks, but now she is finding her voice.  It's been nearly seven years since we've had a dog.  I don't know how we survived so long without one!