Honeymoon round up - Part 3 - DIY wardrobe

Alight, thank you for indulging me with all the honeymoon posts and photos. I promise that this will be the last one, and will also actually contain something sewing-related... 

It's my DIY honeymoon wardrobe - in action photos! I was really pleased to have worn a number of my handmade items on this trip (though I brought a few more, like my daisy dress, for example). 

At the lu'au in my turquoise shift dress (Simplicty 2146) 

In my upcycled shirred dress

By the "dragon teeth" in my Little Lisette Traveler (I have only just realised that the spelling of "traveler" with just the one r on the pattern - how very ignorant of me to have completely looked past this and written an entire blog post spelling "traveller" a hundred times previously!) - it was rather windy!

In my pullover beach cover up top on the beach (Vogue 8278)

On the beach again in my heirloom top 

In San Fran, I also wore my very latest Sew for Victory top but I didn't get any snaps taken as 1) it was completely covered by my jacket and scarf 2) after all that travelling and lack of sleep, I was not feeling particularly photogenic. 

There is also of course the little romper (Mccalls 6331), which you will have seen already earlier this week. 

And finally, there was another beach cover up - a kaftan - let's save that for next time :) 

The "heirloom" summer top

As my wedding dress is now substantially finished, and that I'm waiting for some supplies before I can finish it all off, I thought I'd take this chance to make a quick little top and take part in the one yard challenge on PR! 

So the key to this 2-week challenge is to make a wearable item using less than 1 yard of fabric. Having gone through my scrap bin, I thought this white cotton seersucker scrap with cute strawberries would be perfect for a little summer top and this challenge. 

I'm calling this "heirloom" because this fabric was given to me by my mum when I was at home around last Xmas. This was the scrap from when she made a dress for me when I was a little girl! Only if I had a photo of me wearing it all those years ago! 

With less than 1 yard (and 45" wide) of the "heirloom" fabric, I decided to make New Look 6965 view A which calls for 7/8 yard of fabric. 

I made the following alterations:

1. Instead of fusible interfacing, I underlined the front and back yokes because I was worried about ironing the seersucker fabric - whilst I know that good seersucker can be ironed as the puckers are woven into the fabric, I didn't want to take the chance. 
2. I didn't like the straps for view A, so I made some rouleau loops for the straps instead. 
3. The fit of the pattern was very loose - I cut a size 4 (given the generally larger sizes of New Look patterns) and took in about 2 inches at the waist (in total - 1 inch per side). I prefer the resultant fit much better. 

Overall I was really happy with how it's turned out - I think I've done the heirloom fabric proud! What's more, I've still got a little bit of it left - maybe enough to make a kindle cover? or a cover for my gigantic new phone, Galaxy Note (long story -- my iphone was stolen in Prague so I decided to get something different as a replacement). 

I liked the casual look of the top - teaming it with skinny jeans or shorts should both work (right now it's far too cold to wear shorts... so I'll have to try that out later!) and I can't wait for summer to finally arrive! But if summer simply refuses to arrive in the UK (once again) this year, I may just lose my mind... but looking on the bright side, I can wear it on holiday to Malta and/or on our mini moon to Paris. 

I loved how simple the pattern is - I managed to start and finish it within a day so it would be a great pattern for beginners. 

Here are some more photos:

 

I adore the little button detail at the back! Although I don't actually need to undo it to get in and out of the top, I think it's a sweet touch. 

I also really like how finished the top looks - that're barely any seams that need finishing. Having done hundreds of hours of hand sewing finishing of the seams on my wedding dress, this was a quality that I highly valued.  

So that's what I've been up to on the bank holiday Monday! Before the supplies for the wedding dress final touches arrive, I wonder if I could fit in another quick project? 

A girl can dream

OK, so I've promised myself to prioritise my wedding dress, which means no other projects/distractions before I finish it... and yes, I am going to stick to it! 


But, who said anything about not daydreaming about making other things? ;)


So, to ensure that I'm not going to suddenly go mad at all my patterns and fabric stash, I thought I'd do a "pipeline" report and indulge in some daydreaming... 


I would love the make this now...

A peplum dress! Of course! What else could it possibly be? After the SS12 runway? 

This is the Project Runway Simplicity 2282, I just love the versatility of this pattern! The peplum is subtle, which makes it easy to wear on a dress down Friday! 

This is the fabric that I'm going to use:

 

After the casual peplum dress, I thought I'd give myself a break by making the Sorbetto top. I've already downloaded the pattern, and found 2 bits of scrap viscose that are the current contenders for the top - almost ready to go! 


Here are the lovely and soft bits of viscose:

I think both would make lovely tops! I have already purchased pink and bronze coloured bias tape... very excited! 


Once I've chosen the fabric for the Sorbetto top, I am planning on using the other one for New Look 6965. 

Another simple top, another perfect pattern for using up scrap! Not to get even more ahead of myself or anything... but I can already see a summer where I can wear lots of comfy homemade tops and dresses!


As I can't keep indulging myself forever, I am going to have to make this the last top priority project that I shall share with you in this post. It is...

Having read so many great reviews for this pattern, I can't wait to have a go at it myself! I have some lightweight cotton poplin that I'm planning on using (we all know what that looks like, so I'm not going to bore you with a picture here). 

Ah oh... I just thought of one more! It's off the runway, by Jason Wu... need I say more?

Of course, it's THE peplum for 2012! I'm planning on using the scrap from my wedding dress for the bodice - it may not be as white as the dress in the picture, it would certainly make it very special! I've bought some polyester satin for the skirt (and acetate satin in fact - but I didn't think the acetate satin had the right hand for this - it was a little too stiff and far to easy to crease! any ideas of using it for anything else?) and some faux silk lining for the skirt... 

Oh the anticipation!