Floaty Two Piece Set

 

Over the past few years I have got pretty good at making clothing that I will actually wear, clothing that fits into my lifestyle and I find comfortable to wear.  This has been a mission of mine for quite some time as a deliberate attempt to make my wardrobe and sewing more sustainable.  I have a wardrobe App on my phone that I log what I wear on a daily basis so it is pretty easy to see what are the hits and what are the misses.  Skirts are something that is strangely lacking and something I do tend to wear a lot over the warmer months.  This year due to COVID, I have also been mindful of a much more casual approach to dressing and this will be something that will be part of my life post COVID as well.  Skirts fit in nicely with the casual approach to dressing where sometimes dresses do not.  I tend to be drawn to pretty floaty floral fabrics like a moth to the flame so reining in my dress impulse is certainly not easy, but I guess I am not alone in that!

It takes approximately 10 days from ordering from Minerva Crafts for my parcel to arrive in New Zealand which is a pretty good effort considering the current lack of flights around the globe.  Despite the current climate, Minerva are still generously donating fabric to me once a month to showcase on my blog and this skirt and top is made in partnership with them.  After making my choice, I had 10 days to decide what to do with this gorgeous stretch crepe fabric.  I am often paralyzed by indecision but not this time.  

You may have seen in last months post, my failed attempt at Ottobre 05/2019.  I really wanted to give this pattern another try in a more floaty and suitable fabric and I was pretty convinced even before it arrived that it would be perfect.  I was not mistaken.  This fabric is lovely!  It has 4 way stretch and doesn't fray so was lovely to work with.

The sewing Gods were certainly smiling on me with this skirt!  I even learned a new trick along the way.  Faced with hemming the hem flounce I tried my rolled hemming foot on my sewing machine and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use, as long as I took my time.  It did end up slightly lettuce edged but a steam with the iron soon took care of that.

I did have one little wobble with the making of the skirt when I decided to line it with some stretch satin.  Hmm bad idea!  I got the satin attached to the bottom of the skirt and really didn't like the way it was hanging so ripped it off before I went any further.  I am pleased I did because it drapes beautifully in it's unlined state.

The back is closed with an invisible zipper and button and buttonhole.  I did make one little mistake when I accidentally cut off the button tab from my waistband.  I had to stitch it back on but once the skirt is on this is not seen.  The button is from my jar of button orphans and looks to be a vintage button that may have come from my mother or grandmother.  I thought the lovely green just looked so nice against the fabric.  It nearly didn't make it onto the skirt because after making my buttonhole and being very pleased with both my selection and buttonhole efforts, I promptly lost it!  I spent around half an hour searching the house that evening before giving up.  Fortunately aided by the light of day, I found it on the floor.

Part two of my vision involved Simplicity 8601.  This is another new to me pattern but a quick look on Instagram revealed that it is actually quite popular which is usually a very good sign.  I traced out one size smaller than my measurements indicated which is my usual way of dealing with the big 4.  Like a lot of people I find the ease in these to be too generous for my liking.  I did check the fit by laying a favourite pattern on top. After reading the reviews I noticed that quite a few people remarked on the tie being quite short so I opted to extend it by 5cm.

 

Once again, I used my rolled hemming foot, this time on the sleeve hems.  While not quite as successful as my first attempt, it certainly gave the look I was after.  I think the greater curve in the fabric made it a little more difficult to hem but I am certainly pleased with the final results.

After trying on the top minus the sleeves, I decided it would benefit from shoulder darts so I unpicked the shoulder seams and added these in.  On me this improves the fit around the armhole quite dramatically and I think this is largely due to the lack of bust darts in this pattern.

I had a  bit of fun in these photos styling this outfit.  I think my favourite is the tee and sneakers look but all will get worn over the warmer months.  I am so pleased with how this worked out.

Skirt
Pattern $20.00

Fabric (gifted) $0.00

Zip $3.00

Total $23.00

Top

Pattern $7.55

Fabric (gifted) $0.00

Total $7.55

Tee

Pattern (used before) $0.00

Fabric (gifted) $0.00

Total $0.00