Florals in Shades of Blue

I had a fairly good idea that a puffed sleeve was going to work quite nicely with the Picnic Top pattern - what I didn't realize was that it would make me rediscover this skirt.

I have been wearing my new denim skirt to death lately (because it really does go with just about everything), and while it would work perfectly with the blue floral design of this top, I was hoping that I could find another option in my closet.

The Sewaholic "Hollyburn" skirt was the belle of the ball around the internet sewing world when it was first released back in 2012, but I don't see it all that much anymore.

It's a great design, so much so that I made myself two versions.  And they saw quite a bit of wear until more recent projects took over the prime sections of closet and I forgot about them after a while.

But as I was rummaging around the depths of the closet looking for the color blue, I spotted this skirt.

Which was exactly what I was looking for!

It's always fun to rediscover garments.  Maybe not quite a fun as a brand new shiny finished sewing project waiting to be worn for the first time, but after years of not being worn, they almost feel like new.

And since I have been on a bit of a denim kick, I am surprised that I didn't think of this skirt right away.  That has to be a sign that I have too many clothing choices, right?!

Which is not to say that a wardrobe could ever have too many blue toned skirts.

As a matter of fact, I keep meaning to add more blue and purple shades to my fabric choices.  Both colors are high up on my list of favorites, but somewhere along the way reds and pinks became my go to.

But the cool tones are gaining traction, and I absolutely feel that a tea length navy wool skirt would be a very welcome addition to my collection.  And there I go adding another project to the sewing queue . . .

Blouse:  Made by me, "Picnic Blouse" from Charm Patterns
Skirt:  Made by me, "Hollyburn" Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns
Necklace:  Nicky Butler
Earrings:  Gift
Shoes:  Marc Fisher "Chela"

Casual Corner

Continuing the theme of the trapeze silhouette, here is The Ivy Pinafore!  I tested Jennifer Lauren’s latest pattern release a few months back, and am finally getting around to posting the pictures of my finished dress.

I actually own a similar corduroy jumper that I found at Old Navy of all places, many years back.  It still continues to be a favorite when the weather is lousy.  I just pull on a sweater, the jumper, and a pair of tights, and I look fairly put together - even when I would rather not venture out into the soggy world.

When I received this pattern, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to make myself an improved version of that old ready-to-wear garment.

Since there really was no fabric in the stash that was going to be suitable, I headed out to JoAnn Fabrics, hoping for the best on my testing deadline.  What I came up with was this floral denim.  I suppose you could call this my version of a pair of jeans! 

I decided to add a bit of extra length to the dress so that I can wear it with or without tights.

My one issue with the design was the fact that this is quite a fabric hog.  After receiving everyone's comments through the testing process, Jennifer Lauren has since added a second, more slim fitting version to the pattern.  And although this is not a design that I would normally choose for myself, the oversized silhouette is clearly growing on me.  This is definitely an easy to wear garment that is helping to add a bit of variety to my closet.

This dress was designed to be paired with The Gable Top - which is a fabulous top I have also made up, by the way!  But in an attempt to get through all of the finished projects I would like to get posted to the blog, I decided to wear The Ivy with my first Renfrew top!  And I really love how the two patterns work together.

Shirt:  Made by me, Sewaholic “Renfrew”

Jumper:   Made by me, Jennifer Lauren Handmade “The Ivy Pinafore”

Shoes:  Colin Stuart
Earrings:  Liz Palacios

[Disclosure:  A copy of The Ivy Pinafore pattern was received in exchange for my feedback on the pattern during the testing process, but the opinions written here are my own.]

A Different Kind of Knit Cowl

A few years ago, everyone was hand knitting "snoods."  Except they were not snoods - they were more of an infinite scarf or a scarf made to look like a draped cowl neckline.  Yes, the English language is full of words that have multiple meanings, but for a brief moment, I thought that a vintage hair covering was coming back into vogue, and that was rather exciting.

But a cowl neckline is something that I love, no matter what we may be calling it these days.

Last year, I purchased a Craftsy kit that included a Renfrew pattern and a length of gray knit fabric.  Gray is not a great color for me, but it was a good deal for the pattern alone.  When the kit arrived, I realized how much I loved this mid-weight rayon blend.  So, I pulled out my fiber reactive dyes and went to work.  This is the result.  Working with these knit fabrics really isn't so very bad!  Which makes me wonder why I was scared for all those years . . .

New Denim

Don't get too excited . . . I did not make a pair of jeans.  But I finally got around to making another Hollyburn Skirt! 

Not too long ago I was whining to Beth that I can never find suitable solid blue fabric for a skirt.  And you may have already guessed her obvious answer . . . denim – it was staring me right in the face.

I though about a gold top-stitching thread, and went so far as to mosey on over to the thread display, but I couldn’t bring myself to go with the contrast.  I left that for the inside seam finishing!

I discovered a new-to-me stitch function with this project . . . the triple-stitch.  A single thread looked rather anemic on the sturdy denim, but the thicker line of matching thread looks quite nice (even if you only notice it up close).

I even went so far as to top-stitch my waistband along the upper and lower edges, and the hem (although that was first hand-stitched in place – old habits die hard).

And look at me making matching separates.  It may not be fancy, but I have a feeling this skirt is going to get a lot of wear.

Blouse:  Made by me, Butterick 6217

Skirt:  Made by me, Sewaholic "Hollyburn"

Shoes:  Colin Stuart

Necklace:  Made by me

Beribboned

Here is the finished skirt!

It did not make it past the first round of The Great Pattern Review Sewing Bee, but I did manage to start and finish a project that has been stuck in my head for years, so I am going to call it a success!

Which is actually a relief.  A week is not enough time to produce a detailed garment (for me, at least!) and the hectic schedule would have stressed me out.

The contest did finally get me to watch the Great British Sewing Bee.  Clearly, the show was not produced in America.  My goodness, everyone was so kind to one another (why can’t reality television in the States be more like that?!).  The snarkiest thing I heard was Ann commenting that she could have made rouleau straps as delicate as those on the winning dress that week – and I believe her.  I actually think that the smocked design looked a bit silly with such tiny straps that would probably end up destroyed after being worn by an active child.

To continue the sewing television trend, I have also starting watching some of the old Project Runway shows.  Wow . . . not quite sure what to think!  The time constraints are ridiculous, and some of the hem finishes are painful to look at; I wonder what they really look like in person.  

All I can say is that I am very thankful the only time constraints and deadlines I have are self-imposed! 

Skirt:  Made by me, Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt

Sweater:  Banana Republic
Shoes: INC

An Experiment in Sewing Notions

Do you ever come up with an idea for a project, and years go by without doing anything about it?  Well, this particular project (or a variation of) has been stuck in my head ever since I first laid eyes on Hug Snug seam binding.  And I finally found the motivation to get started!

I chose a stashed cotton velveteen as the base fabric.  I knew it was going to be a pain to work with the nap, but it was sturdy enough to handle a lot of top-stitching, and it had a few sections of squashed pile that made it less than ideal for a project where the fabric itself would be the focus.

I knew I wanted to use a simple skirt pattern as a base; Sewaholic's Hollyburn Skirt was an obvious choice.  It’s always handy to have a muslin from a previous version of a pattern.  No prep work needed!  I decided to eliminate the pockets (shock, horror!) to keep things a bit more streamlined.

To keep the seam allowances out of my way, I catch-stitched them into place.

The skirt was constructed at the front and side seams, leaving the back open.

I did add 1.5” to the hemline, but I ended up trimming off some of that extra.  Another Hollyburn is probably in my future, and if I have enough yardage, I plan on adding an inch or so to that version since I think this silhouette would look great hemmed at the knee.

Then came the fun part!

I originally intended to leave some of the velveteen visible through the stripes of seam binding.  But what I visualized in my head did not look as good when I tried it out with a scrap of fabric.

Somehow, I did not have thread to match back to the seam binding.  How does that happen with two racks full of thread?!  But other than three new spools of thread, this project was made entirely of stashed items.  And I only had to travel a couple of blocks to the new sewing store right in my backyard to get them.  Unfortunately, the only fabric they stock is quilting cotton which is easy to come by, and lots of poly tulle (which probably had something to do Halloween).  Oh well, at least there is a convenient place to go for a last minute zipper or random bit of thread.

I started at the hemline after giving myself an even thread-traced line to work from, and went to town!

The rows are far from perfect.  Between the nap of the velveteen and the bias bits there were a few frustrating moments.

And the jade green spool of Hug Snug is the first I have come across with major imperfections.  The first five yards or so were too flawed to use.  Something chewed through a section of the spool which was less than ideal - especially when I was working with long strips of the stuff.  Thankfully, the flaws did not mar the entire 100 yards.

As an added bonus, because I started at the hemline each row became shorter and shorter as I went along.  I think I may have given up had I started at the waistline and worked my way down!

In all honesty, the process was not nearly as tedious as I was expecting.

I found a vintage zipper in a drawer that was a decent match for the color palette.

And I decided the waistband needed to be embellished as well - I thought a plain band would look silly next to all that ribbon!

An underlining of cotton was applied before I stitched on the seam binding.

The waistband was hand basted in place to make sure I did not catch any of the binding in that seam.

And a bemberg lining was added to make the skirt more hosiery friendly since this is a winter-weight skirt.

Because the bemberg has a significantly different drape than the velveteen, thread tacks were added at each seam to keep the lining from hanging below the skirt.

It is an extra step that makes a real difference.

Two thread hangers were added as well - the clips on a skirt hanger might smoosh or mar the ribbons along the waistband.  (These were made from polyester ribbon; seam binding is not quite sturdy enough to carry the weight of an entire skirt, in my opinion.)

Is this skirt technical perfection?  Absolutely not.  But, even so, I would call my experiment a success.  And I have a feeling there will be more seam binding as embellishment in my future.