Two Saturday outfits

I've just finished a super colourful top using a pattern from an old NHK crafts magazine and cute cotton from Singapore:

I think it's the first time I've taken pics of this particular pattern but I've made a ton of these, it's such a cool and comfortable design! I love the different lengths at the front and the back and the A-shaped bodice. Normally the sleeves are longer but it is summer now and the shorter the better :) Also there were huge breast pockets on the original version but I didn't put them here because the print is so busy it wouldn't have shown much. And I had to add a front seam because I didn't have enough fabric to cut on the fold:

 Nice topstitching if I may say so myself!

That's my typical summer outfit, a fun, loose top and shorts or a half circle skirt, which brings me to the second part of this post...
... Two Saturdays ago I was invited to a wedding so I made a pistachio green crepe cropped blouse to go with a navy linen Cascade skirt:

So yes, you can tell I'm really into that cropped, hi-lo silhouette aka I get into trends eons after everyone else^^ I'm quite happy with the wedding blouse because the fabric moved a lot and I was surprised I managed to make a neat enough collar as well as a decent button band. But I didn't push my luck and used bias tape for the armholes and hem because I think it's definitely the easiest way of getting an even finish!

I made a dress

I love broderie anglaise and I'd wanted a black broderie dress for a while but I knew I couldn't wear something fully lined here in Reunion, so I settled for a mixed fabric garment instead. I went for broderie ruffles with a plain poplin shell:

I bought the black broderie in Singapore because it was super cute and the quality was very good, and the poplin is from a local shop. I used an old Ottobre pattern that I slightly altered, I think the original dress had tucks instead of gathering and puff sleeves or something like that, and of course I added ruffles that I finished by encasing the raw hem in folded narrow bias tape:

I like my dress because it's really nice to wear, I have my broderie details and even though it's black I don't think I look overdressed in it, or do I^^?

Favourite outfit of the moment

I haven't worn a dress or shorts in weeks because I've been living in blouse + skirt combos: I'm obsessed! And that's all because I found a nice little pattern that looks great tucked in skirts and has allowed me to use remnants I had in my stash. I took 04/2011 Burda magazine's 108 shirt dress, shortened it and curved the hem and the armholes so that they would end higher on the shoulders. I didn't sew the front darts for a more relaxed fit and didn't add the sleeves and I got the cutest sleeveless shirt ever :)

I made this one with bits of fabric that were left after I made a dress for my mum, it's navy cotton printed with tiny white raindrops, I finished the armholes with bias tape and the buttons are from my stash.

I HAD to show my beloved heart-shaped bag!

 

Here it is worn with a white linen skirt, it's self-drafted ie I put pleats on two rectangles and sewed them down to shape the waist, added belt loops and a side zipper et voilà:

I have two more shirts like this one, both made using remnants from past projects and I'm planning more!

Birthday outfit

This year I made a matching crop top and skirt in some beautiful, colourful cotton fabric from Stof!

The pattern for the top is altered from the bodice of my tnt babydoll dress and it closes at the back with wooden buttons:

The gored skirt is a vintage Style pattern that I have already made many times:

I love this fabric so much, I got super inspired when I saw it! At first I wanted to make a sleeveless maxi dress with it but then I knew I wouldn't wear it often, whereas a top and a skirt are more versatile, I can match them with other garments. I'm so happy with the result I can see other ensembles like this one in my future :)

Swans and zebras

Brace yourselves for an umpteenth version of my favourite babydoll style pattern, this time it's a top with short sleeves made with excellent -and I don't use that word lightly^^- swan printed cotton:

I found it in a local shop, the name on the fabric is Stof and when I looked it up I discovered that it is a 100% French brand! They design prints and make fabrics in their own factory in Loire and yet their prices are very reasonable and the quality is great -you can have more details on their website here .

Naturally I LOVE that print because it features swans that are both adorable and graceful, which cannot be said of all animals:

Dora got crazy when she found that heap of old roots and branches and proceeded to rub herself in it for half an hour^^

I also have another animal printed creation I want to show, it's a low waisted dress I made for my mum using cotton from another local shop but this time it is the Japanese brand Lecien:

It was super simple to make, I took a sleeveless top pattern and added two gathered rectangles for the skirt :)

Best summer dress - sleeveless!

I almost never wear sleeveless clothes because I find my arms very chubby but I think that at nearly 35 years old it's time I got rid of this complex -but I'm totally doing push-ups three times a day to try and limit the damage^^
I decided to start this wardrobe revolution with a trusted and beloved pattern, yes my favourite babydoll dress, so I simply deepened the armholes and neckline a little and got rid of the sleeves naturally :)
I had the perfect fabric for it, a 1 metre coupon of beautiful burnt orange linen that an adorable sales assistant from a local shop gave me because it had a tiny tear in a corner!!

To make this simple design a tad more interesting I added a mock tab with covered buttons on the bodice and I bound the armholes and neckline with self made bias.

Finally for once the pockets are made with the same fabric because any other one would have shown since the fabric is a little see-through!

 

I'm so much into orange these days, to think that I used to hate this colour and now I even want orange shoes and dream of orange hair:

Best summer dress the third

Here's a purple linen version of my current favourite pattern, I made it with 1 metre of fabric as usual -well that's because here in Reunion most fabrics are 150 cm wide^^

I used some chambray remnant for the pockets and flower bias tape to finsh the neckline and sleeves:

There's not much more to say except that I'm super happy with this dress and that I have many other versions to write about :)

Another best summer dress

Well I said I would sew more and since this dress is so quick and easy to make, here's the second version:

I used 1 metre of cotton fabric from the same local shop as my Liberty knock-off one, I think the print is adorable with its stripes and flower bouquets! The pockets are light yellow poplin and I finished the neckline and sleeves with bias tape.
I also made the necklace using beads from an old one from my teenage years -I'm not a hoarder obviously^^- and adding a little chain from my stash:

 I stole this awesome scorpio pendant from my mum.

I hope you're not bored of this design already because I really have several more planned!

The best summer dress!

I'm SO happy with this garment, I think it's my new favorite dress! I used my hacked Japanese top pattern and 1 metre of some Liberty knock off to make it. I didn't know what to do with this fabric and since it was cheap and there's plenty in our local shops I figured it wouldn't be a big loss if my dress test didn't work. Well the result looks super cute IMO and the fabric is so nice to wear, it's light and very soft, the perfect material for our hot summer!
Regarding the pattern this is really a cropped top with a gathered skirt, it retains a little shape thanks to the bust darts but apart from this you pull it over like a tee-shirt and that's it :) I added side pockets for once and I should do so all the time because I feel so cool walking around with my hands tucked in them -even though I got sweaty palms because they're like little saunas when it's 31° Celsius^^
I finished the neckline and sleeves with bias tape and made a simple folded hem for the skirt:

Now I want to make one in madras, another one with polka dots, another one with big pandas on an off-white background, another one with stripes... I need help!

OWOP day five

That's my last Y for OWOP, I made it a few weeks ago using fabric I found in Spotlight but since I only had 1.2 yards -at first I wanted to make a top with it- I had to squeeze the pattern in there and cut the front on the fold whereas the back bodice has two pieces^^. The dress looks okay but I really thought I wouldn't be able to finish it!

That print is adorable!

I enjoyed this first OWOP but if I do it again I'll choose a pattern with which I have also made tops because in the end I didn't feel like wearing only dresses, even though they don't look alike :) so next time I'll try to make this challenge more versatile!

OWOP day three

Today's Y pattern hack is a maxi dress with side ties, it's made with bright tropical cotton purchased in a local shop:

I love this fabric so much I have it in black, red, yellow and white :)

So I realise that the print might be just a tad loud^^ but it's one of my favourite makes because of its 70's vibe! I added the side ties because I wanted the dress to look more fitted but since it's high-waisted it still has plenty of room which is something I really appreciate :)

OWOP day one

For this challenge I had to choose between the three patterns that I have made the most: first my self-drafted loose top or dress, then the NHK book 60's style dress and finally the Stylish Dress Book Y dress. I went for the Y design simply because I dug out my white linen version a few weeks ago and it made me think of all the cool garments I sewed from this excellent pattern :)
As a quick reminder the Y dress originally looks like this, it's a high-waisted dress with gathered skirt, wide sleeves and contrast outer facings. I believe this type of design looks better on tiny frames so I altered it to fit my body, I added bust darts, lengthened the upper bodice and shortened the sleeves and I reduced the skirt's width to get rid of the gathers, also I didn't include the contrast panels in most of my versions.
So for day one, which was a busy one for me since I have four different lessons to teach in four different corners of the island, I wore a short, Liberty fabric version that is super comfortable and still looks cute IMO:

I made the necklace too :)

I'm sorry that the last photo looks so lame but there is so much wind at the moment that it's impossible for garments to stay still, hence the pregnant look :( Today I'm not working and I went hiking so I couldn't wear anything Y-related but tomorrow I'll be back with another variation!

Little White Dress

Have you seen Sarai's white linen Laurel? What a great piece!
I LOVE white dresses, I find them easier to wear and style than black dresses, but maybe that's because I live in a sunny place. Also I'm quite pale so black looks very dramatic on me whereas white tends to boost what little tan I have :)
So after seeing Sarai's white shift I realised that I had never posted about something a bit similar that I made last year when I was obsessed with the Y pattern from the first Stylish Dress Book! I actually mixed it with elements from the T pattern and altered the fit to get some seriously cute dresses, my favourite of the bunch being this one:

I love everything about this dress, first the fabric is a super soft linen and cotton mix that my bff bought for me during a shopping trip, and well I love getting presents^^ Then I made this dress as part of my holiday wardrobe last year and wore it for the first time in Japan so it always brings fond memories of this awesome trip, all the more since I couldn't go this year. Finally I'm fond of the wide lace trim detail at the hem, I think it goes really well with the fabric's white tone, I got it in a local haberdashery and it was litterally the last 1.4 yard they had:

And since I have so many variations of this pattern I've just signed up at Handmade Jane and I'll be doing the OWOP challenge using it!

Almost Anna dress!

I had been dreaming of an Anna for months so when the amazing BHL girls released the pdf pattern I was ecstatic! I LOVE the maxi length versions of course but I must admit that I haven't printed the long skirt part yet, indeed my favourite part of this pattern is the bodice which ticks all my boxes: demure bateau neckline, kimono sleeves, fitted waist and full bust :) I was seriously obsessed with it and all the excellent variations I had seen on the blogs so I decided to add my own skirt to it and I got this:

I'm SO happy with this dress and I have so many things to tell you about it^^ Let's talk about the fit first, I cut a size 8US/12UK, moved the shoulder seams 1cm to the front, added 0.5cm to the front sides and removed 1.5cm from the back sides and took off a 2cm horizontal chunk at the back even though I should have removed a bit more because the bodice still wrinkles a little and is sliiightly lower at the waist than the front:

The skirt is a 70's New Look pattern which I have made a dozen times, it's so simple yet pretty and it doesn't need as much fabric as a gored skirt.

As for the fabric it's a complete mystery, I know I bought it here in Reunion but where exactly I can't remember! I had forgotten about it until I spotted it at the bottom of one of my fabric cupboard shelves, I think it may be upholstery because it's a little heavy and the wrong side is whitish but the print and colours are gorgeous IMO:

I finished everything, hem included, with black bias tape and I handsewed a regular zipper at the back.
This is actually my second Anna, I made one with a gathered skirt that I have yet to take pics of, but it's not as wearable as this one because it looks like an out of control cupcake so I'll probably refashion the skirt part and show it to you afterwards!