Good year for the roses

In the middle of an unprecedented heat wave I finished a new summer outfit. The top is from the April issue of Knipmode, KM1504-22. It will come as no surprise the skirt is another Colette Patterns Mabel skirt.

The top is made of a very lightweight viscose satin with a rose print on a midnight blue blackground. The line drawings show the use of darts at the neckline.

I made a quick muslin to check for neckline gaping (there wasn't any) and after that it was a straightforward project.  I used French seams and hand stitched hems and although I considered different finishes for the facings in the end I just used the serger.

The top is pretty boxy so I've been trying out some styling options. With a tiny belt for some waist shaping, without belt, which I may try again paired with white straight legged jeans. But not know, I'm done taking pictures at 38 degrees Celsius! I'm not a fan of tucked in tops cause it makes me look short waisted and top heavy. Paired with a silk cardigan it looked all right-ish, I guess.

For details of  Mabel skirt #4, in midnight blue ponte, there's nothing I didn't already mention when constructing Mabel #1, #2 and #3

Today my father-in-law celebrates his 96th birthday. Despite his age he always notices when you make an extra effort to dress up and he is a big fan of a handmade wardrobe. His eyesight is letting him down but he will be able to see this bright and colourful print so this is my outfit for the birthday dinner he will be hosting on Saturday. Happy birthday, Dad!

Clockwise: the back (with belt), detail of the neckline and both garments inside out. Sneak peek: for the lining of the waistband I used a bit of polka dot fabric from my next project!

O, and in case anyone wonders about the title of this post? While hand stitching a rose print underneath the giant rambling rose, Elvis Costello's version of the song got stuck in my head. Not complaining ;) It's a good year for the roses!

Lace Moneta

A few weeks ago I wanted to make a new dress for a special occasion. Sometimes I select a pattern before buying fabric but his time the fabric led the way. When I discovered this blue stretch lace I knew it would be perfect for a Moneta dress.

I underlined the bodice with a very lightweight jersey in dark navy.

 All seam allowances were catch stitched to the underlining. These are the shoulder seams, you can see the clear elastic used for stabilizing sticking out on the right side.

For the sleeves I used a single layer of the lace, the neckline was turned under as per the instructions and also hand stitched to the underlining, a nice and clear finish.

This dress is a remake of my Floral frenzy Moneta, with a slightly more scooped out neckline on the front. The neckline is staying nicely in place, even when I'm bending over to reward the furry assistant. 

For the skirt I chose to use separate layers to keep a flowy effect. In order to prevent extra bulk at the waistline and hips I drafted a straight skirt for the lining. Both skirts have French seams. I gathered the lace overskirt and sewed both skirts to the bodice, adding clear elastic.

Easy to make, a pleasure to wear!

Mabel, what's not to like?

After a month of more sowing than sewing here at Foxgloves HQ I'm back to show you the first of many, many Mabels. I've made a lot of old school pencil skirts: woven fabric, pegged, lined, slit. The kind of skirt that is utterly useless when walking the dog, mowing the lawn or riding your bike to the grocery store. In my neck of the woods two out of three of these examples are daily business, so pencil skirts are SOO (Special Occasions Only). But, thanks to Colette Patterns there's a major breakthrough. Mabel is a pencil skirt that's so comfortable you could even go to sleep in it!

Colette Mabel skirt and Lekala 8004 top

The construction of this skirt is quick  could have been quick, if only I had put some trust in the pattern makers. In order to avoid the dreaded muffin top I chose a bigger size for the waistband. Which resulted in gaping at the back. After some seam ripping I even took out more than I originally added.

I was also worried about the length of the skirt. I'm 1.73 m (5'8) and could not find the heigth this pattern was drafted for. I added 4 cm to the pattern pieces. Guess what? Exactly the amount I had to cut off again at the final hemline. 

Colette Mabel skirt and Colette Jasmine blouse

One more note on the construction. Since I mentioned making the Mabel skirt I noticed some traffic to my blog via Google search on 'How to sew a kick pleat in the Mabel skirt'. Let me reassure you. It's not a slit construction, it's just a simple pleat. Sew a straight line, fold to one side and make a little topstitch. That's all!

Instead of using a twin needle for quick hemming I chose for hand sewing. My usual routine, never take the easy way if you can make things a little more complicated... 

This skirt is so versatile! I like all three outfits I made up with this simple skirt and can think of many more.

More on the Lekala top can be found here, for more on the Jasmine click here.

Since this was my first session with a tripod and a remote I'll make this post picture heavy, just because I can.

Well, you get the picture. When in doubt, make a Mabel skirt!