Heightened
Reality
(or Hello Sagittarius!)
Do you ever just take a moment to close your eyes and in
that quiet a design simply comes to you? Fluttering so close and then you see it, the visual of what you absolutely want to make is ever so clear
now. Well, this top is one such design and I absolutely love it! You don’t have
to love it, it’s all mine after all, but I did so very much want to share…
There I was one lovely rainy day meandering through Mill End
when I spotted the most fabulous Sagittarius fabric. For those of you have not
guessed already, I am one such fabulous Sagittarius (yes, we are awesome, we
just don’t usually boast about it like some of the rest of you do :p). I of
course had a fabric budget at the time but I also knew I just had
to have some of this fabric. So I picked up a yard and a quarter. Not a
whole lot but I didn’t think I would need much since I knew by the time I was
at the counter having the fabric cut that I was going to make the top you see before
you.
I used one of the patterns from Mary Adam’s book The Party Dress, and I know I have
mentioned this in former posts but this is a really great book. If you are looking
for a solid dress design book, it is definitely a great one to have. Having personally
gone through the book many times over and even having emailed and received the
sweetest email back from her, I can honestly say it is a fantastic resource,
and she’s as nice as can be!
Normally, a yard and a quarter is not nearly enough fabric
for a full skirt style like this but I used what I had and mixed in a bit of
navy blue for the skirt and then as you can see in the photos, I went with a
navy blue for the bodice base and hand stitched the Sagittarius printed fabric
strips down for accent. For the skirt I laid the pattern pieces out flat and
then took the patterned fabric and cut out smaller pieces and mixed them with
the navy. I then sewed the skirt pieces together and continued to do this until
I had the pattern pieces equaling the size of the pattern pieces. Then I sewed
those pieces together as instructed in the directions, down the sides, leaving
the back open until the top and bottom pieces are sewn together and the zipper is put in. One thing I did not worry about really
when cutting out the pieces for the skirt was the bottom hem. Not until later
at least.
Once the skirt was made I moved onto the top bodice, which I
made out of a navy cotton stretch sateen fabric. I added stabilizer to the
inside bodice seams and sewed the strips to the outside before I sewed the
inside lining down. Once finished with the bodice front I added the zipper and
then for the bottom hem I wanted to keep it different heights so I ever so
lightly trimmed the angles on the bottom a little and then hemmed, folded,
pressed, and hemmed once more.
Heightened Reality
I do need a big navy blue floppy hat to go with for the beach. When I say ‘floppy hat’ though I really mean ‘big hat’ (and less flop) because who wants to have a hand constantly up holding the brim of a hat while reading a book at the beach? No one does. It’s much better to have one on that cold drink and one holding the book. Or as the boys say (in their own way), a hand free for each Shih Tzu for belly rubs.
But with faces like these, who could deny belly rubs…
(Yes,
those are our babies. Don’t they make the cutest pair? They’re brothers. You
can find more adorable photos @ www.GizObi.blogpot.net
because I had so many photos of their cute selves I couldn’t resist sharing ;)
Mommy's Fuzzy Pandas!
Mommy's Fuzzy Pandas!
Alright, I am off to the shop to make some new blouses and finish
some new bathing suits! I know I know..I’m behind because I meant to have these
finished by the weekend and here it is Wednesday but the fun part is we’re all going to look so fantastic! Ohh you’re right, we already do! But new designs made today bring about even more inspiration for future projects, and everyone loves that!
Have a fabulous day and shoot me a message via
Craftzies.etsy or Sophia.etsy if you need anything. I’m around ;) I just might
be pulling a sewing machine out onto the deck and sewing in the shade this
afternoon.
It is ever so HOT in the sewing room today but you know how it is, the sew must go on…
Lindsay ;)
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