The festival wardrobe - part 1
It's less than 2 weeks until we head up to Echuca for the Riverboats Festival (so excited! Claire Bowditch! Clairy Brown! Mia Dyson!). Sadly Sunny wont be ready for the road trip, but there's not a lot we can do about that. Anyway I am having fun making a few new summer things, with the goal of having a few things especially for the festival. We're planning to take our bikes to commute back and forward so my wardrobe needs to be bike friendly.
First up is another Butterick Dress to Top, made over the weekend. I do love this bright 60's check, despite it looking a bit like a test pattern. It's a bit stiff for this top though. Because there are no darts in this pattern the softer and drapier the fabric, the better. You live and learn though. I'm happy with it - it's bright and cheery, and the fabric was only $2/m so one can't complain!
Next up is my self drafted/rubbed off sailor outfit. The last couple of years Witchery has sold a basic tank, the style of which I love, and each year I have added a couple to my wardrobe. They are a lovely style, deep scoop front and back, straps wide enough to hide bra straps but still be elegant. This summer I only bought one, and when it arrived in the mail it had clearly never been tried on and I found it the perfect opportunity to rub a pattern off it! I've made 3 now (I'm going to call it the Tragic Tank), and with little adjustments I am perfecting the fit for me. This is version 2, in a lovely cotton/spandex knit from Darn Cheap. I love stripes. I am addicted to them - I have so many striped items truly could dress myself in head-to-toe stripes including shoes, underwear and hosiery.
This was my first attempt at twin needling too - LOVE it! Such an easy but awesome finish! A few tips I have found on twin needling on various interweb sources:
1 - Don't set to a straight stitch! It actually looks better if you have an ever-so-slight zigzag (I did mine at 0.25mm). I don't know why - maybe the slight waviness doesn't sink into the fabric so much. Who knows.
2 - Sew with a stitch length of 3mm - this definitely looks better than 2.5mm.
3 - If the fabric bunches up in the middle of the stitches and creates a ridge have a fiddle with the tension (top tension).
4 - Maybe should have said this first - practice on a scrap first!
The skirt I made using a tutorial at Tilly and the Buttons and was my first attempt at shirring with elastic thread. The fabric was a leftover linen and metallic blend in my stash, and came up a treat. It was a little time consuming but super easy, and its a really cute little number.
And finally my gorgeous Liberty bunting jersey made it into another Tragic Tank. Interestingly its not as stretchy as the stripey - maybe its the jersey itself, but I also think the heavy amount of printing on the fabric limits the stretch. So its a little snugger, but according to my resident fashion advisor, snugger is better!
Coming up in part 2 - Colette Iris shorts and a Wiksten tank!
First up is another Butterick Dress to Top, made over the weekend. I do love this bright 60's check, despite it looking a bit like a test pattern. It's a bit stiff for this top though. Because there are no darts in this pattern the softer and drapier the fabric, the better. You live and learn though. I'm happy with it - it's bright and cheery, and the fabric was only $2/m so one can't complain!
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| Inside out - love that neat'n'tidy facing! |
Next up is my self drafted/rubbed off sailor outfit. The last couple of years Witchery has sold a basic tank, the style of which I love, and each year I have added a couple to my wardrobe. They are a lovely style, deep scoop front and back, straps wide enough to hide bra straps but still be elegant. This summer I only bought one, and when it arrived in the mail it had clearly never been tried on and I found it the perfect opportunity to rub a pattern off it! I've made 3 now (I'm going to call it the Tragic Tank), and with little adjustments I am perfecting the fit for me. This is version 2, in a lovely cotton/spandex knit from Darn Cheap. I love stripes. I am addicted to them - I have so many striped items truly could dress myself in head-to-toe stripes including shoes, underwear and hosiery.
This was my first attempt at twin needling too - LOVE it! Such an easy but awesome finish! A few tips I have found on twin needling on various interweb sources:
1 - Don't set to a straight stitch! It actually looks better if you have an ever-so-slight zigzag (I did mine at 0.25mm). I don't know why - maybe the slight waviness doesn't sink into the fabric so much. Who knows.
2 - Sew with a stitch length of 3mm - this definitely looks better than 2.5mm.
3 - If the fabric bunches up in the middle of the stitches and creates a ridge have a fiddle with the tension (top tension).
4 - Maybe should have said this first - practice on a scrap first!
The skirt I made using a tutorial at Tilly and the Buttons and was my first attempt at shirring with elastic thread. The fabric was a leftover linen and metallic blend in my stash, and came up a treat. It was a little time consuming but super easy, and its a really cute little number.
And finally my gorgeous Liberty bunting jersey made it into another Tragic Tank. Interestingly its not as stretchy as the stripey - maybe its the jersey itself, but I also think the heavy amount of printing on the fabric limits the stretch. So its a little snugger, but according to my resident fashion advisor, snugger is better!
Coming up in part 2 - Colette Iris shorts and a Wiksten tank!
I so love that butterick dress to top! I've been looking for that kind of vintage colourful plaid but I can never find it anywhere. Perfect fabric to pattern match I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I adore it too. I made my friend a Wiksten tank in it and it looked awesome too!
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