Big thanks to Oona this week. After last month’s Sewcialist theme was inspired by her, she made her family choose a few favorite outfits so she could send out prizes. My Kalkatroonan wiggle dress was one of the outfits chosen (blush). Check out all the amazing outfits she inspired over here.
This month’s theme over at The Monthly Stitch is “Cake”. Open to a broad range of interpretations, I’ve opted to use the definition of making clothing that turns out to be “frosting” vs. “cake”. A while back, for another Monthly Stitch theme (November of last year? Really that long ago?), I had made this lovely green/gold taffeta skirt. Who would have thought that a shiny, taffeta, midi-length skirt wouldn’t go with everything in my closet? I did manage to put together an outfit or two, eventually incorporating a ready-to-wear green stretch corduroy jacket that also doesn’t go with many things in my closet, but the blouse has just never been right. Anything shiny slides against the high waist of the skirt and comes untucked creating blousing over the waistband, not a good look with the high-waisted skirt. The best top up till now was the silk jersey camisole from White House/Black Market that is in the blog pictures for the skirt post. Unfortunately, that cami was meant to be a layering piece, so it needed a jacket or sweater kept over it to keep my modesty intact. That’s fine so long as I’m sitting around, but back in June, I ended up doing some end-of-day bathroom cleaning after an Assembly, and it was way too warm to be doing that kind of work with a jacket on. I realize that it probably sounds weird, but volunteering to clean public restrooms is something my dress clothes do need to be prepared to handle because it does come up for me on a fairly regular basis. To be a practical layered outfit, the layers need to be un-layerable as much as possible. I finally faced facts; my pretty taffeta skirt is pure frosting and it needs some cake to anchor it. So I made some cake.
This is the Mae Blouse from BlueGingerDoll Patterns. I didn’t make any alterations to the size 18. Between this one and my Winifred dress I may have to try more of these patterns; Abby’s pattern block seems to be drafted specifically for my shape. I liked how the scallops at the neckline echo the scallops at the top of the skirt. Everything went together easy-peasy. The instructions are clear. I skipped interfacing which may shorten the life of the button placket, but I didn’t want anything to show through the eyelets (I know should have used silk organza, but knowing didn’t equal doing in this instance). It buttons in the back which gives it a really clean look in the front and prevents gaposis. The downside to buttons in the back is the part where I can’t button it myself, Pete had to do it for me today.
If this fabric looks vaguely familiar, it might be that you saw what Anne made out of it earlier this summer. It was labelled “faux eyelet” when I bought it online, but there are real holes in it, so a white camisole is a must underneath for modesty. I’m loving the retro-vibe of this ensemble. I can still wear my corduroy jacket this way too, though having the option for a cropped sweater/shrug would also be nice.
This was stash fabric, so I get to count it for stash-busting purposes too. I know it might look from the stats that I’m not going to make it to 50 by the end of the year, but at some point I will need to do a really dull post with all the kids’ basics I’ve made in the past few months. There were so many T-shirts, and they got snatched up by the children to wear as soon as they saw they were off the sewing machine. I’m going to have to put my camera in the laundry room and try to grab some pics as things get washed.
Stash-busting stats 37/50. 78 1/2 yards
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