Saturday, December 24, 2022

Festive Christmas Penguins

At this point, I have quite a few Christmas or Christmas themed outfits that I have made for myself.  As the years go by, they seem to get more and more outlandish, or perhaps a better word is obnoxious!  And this year, I took the opportunity to find some equally festive earrings. Because why not go all in!

When I found this penguin print at the last fabric swap I attended, I knew it was destined for great things.

There was also a whole lot of it, although I do wonder what the original purchaser of this fabulous print was planning on doing with five yards of fabric?!

For me, it was the perfect excuse to make a very full skirted frock.  The fact that it was just under the amount required for New Look 6486 which Michelle sent me from Old Patterns was not going to stop me.  I shortened the skirt length and then had the brilliant idea to add a bright green border to add back a bit of length, and to match those shoulder bows, of course.

There is a more traditional Christmas green included in this print, but I thought it would be a fun change to use a bright grass green as a more surprising choice.  It's not normally a color that I can wear, but using it sparingly works, especially when it matches Mr. Pengiun's scarf so nicely.

As I mentioned in my construction post, I am a huge fan of the basque waist.  I am not sure why this silhouette fell out of favor, but you really don't see it come up much after the 1980s.  

But I am definitely going to be on the lookout for more patterns that include this design feature.

With the basque waist and the off the shoulder collar, I just couldn't resist this pattern even though I tend to avoid the late 1980s/early 1990s designs.

I don't have a lot of familiarity with New Look patterns, and so I went with one size larger than I normally do with Big4 Patterns.  I did take cursory measurements of the bodice, but was slightly nervous about the sizing.  In the end, I probably should have sized down.  But since this is a Christmas dress, it may end up being the perfect outfit for eating a larger than normal sized meal.  So perhaps it was meant to be.

I am already contemplating making another version, so I will have another opportunity to take on the sizing issue.  And I will remember to remove a wedge of fabric from the back bodice.  This is an alteration that I make on every bodice, and I got distracted in the middle of cutting this out and forgot the adjustment.  Aaarrrgh!  I doubt that most people would notice the issue, but it drives me crazy that I let myself skip that step.  This year has been a whirlwind, and it's a symptom of being way too busy and needing to take a deep breath and SLOW DOWN!

But overall, I am very, very happy with my festive frock.  And it was very well received at the Symphony, so that festive novelty print was definitely an audience favorite.  After all, who can resist a cute little penguin enjoying all sorts of Winter activities!  Happy Christmas, everyone!

Dress:  Made by me, New Look 6486
Earrings:  Etsy, Arely Designs
Ring:  Grandfather's high school ring
Shoes:  Kristin Cavallari for Chinese Laundry "Copertina"

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