Wardrobe Challenge Outfit Number 2 and the Start of the Mixing and Matching

Well, now I understand how much patience it takes to quilt something.  I did all of 16 straight lines, and it took me forever, I want to see 3-4 hours, but I am not sure if that is really accurate.  I feel like I had to seam rip every other line out.  I also had to repin once I finished each line.  The next time I'm in the U.S., I'll pick up some spray adhesive.  However, will they even allow that on a plane?  Hmmm, research.  Anyway... I finished the skirt yesterday morning, and since it was a weekend, I decided to make one of the tops so that I can photograph everything together. Ta-da!

The pink was a pain in the but to color correct, but look how much better the photos came out.  I still need to get a second lighting source for my sewing room, but it's getting there.  I took the time this morning, did my makeup and hair, moved the sewing table out of the way and messed around until a. my camera decided to work again and b. the photos came out alright.  What do you think?

Let's start with the skirt- the pattern was combining my two favorite pencil skirt patterns and then making it as single seam skirt.  Yes, that shaping is done with all darts.  For the waist and hips it's Vogue 8640 which has four front darts and four back darts, for the sides I added two fairly giant darts, which seemed to work well.  For the bottom half of the skirt, it's Vogue 2514, because I love the mitered pleat, it makes it so easy to hem.  Plus- the hem was the exact width of a row.  Talk about lucky!

Here's a look at the back.  I used an exposed regular zip (originally I had a pink invisible zipper in and it wasn't invisible.)  The pattern didn't exactly match up in the back, but it doesn't bother me, as at least the rows match up. 

Looking at this photo you can tell that I need a second light to evenly light the whole picture.  Guess I'll be ordering an Ott-lite from Amazon.  But you can see the nice fit of the skirt.

A closer look at the top so you can see the detailing.  It's a cotton with pintucks and lace added.  I used Marfy 3797 for the base of the top.  Well, Marfy 3797 didn't have any pictures of it in the Marfy catalog, but that is where I got it, so I didn't realize how giant it was!  I took out 2+inches on the sides and on the sleeve length.  Eek!  I also messed around with the seaming, as Marfy 3797 is a simple kimono tunic (that should have alerted me to the ginormity of the sizing).  I added a curved seam in both the front and back so I could have the plaid both straight and diagonal.  Suprizinly, the straight plaid is cut on the bias. 

As I didn't have a whole lot of fabric, I had to add a back center seam.  After I had sewn it up, I realized that I could have done something cuter with it, but oh well!  The sleeves and the hem are just folded up twice.  I biased bound the neckline and stitched it down.  Now back to the skirt, I am sure you are dying to see the inside of the skirt, as it is awesome!  I used more of my poly-satin hot pink polkadots, black coutil, and lime green bias binding to finish all the edges. 

So part of the wardrobe challenge is that ALL the pieces must be able to be worn with each other- so here are all the different combinations I have made so far!  I was most worried about the giant blue floral top with the quilted skirt, but I think it works. 

 

Anyway, I have four more pieces to make in the next couple of weeks, so back to the sewing machine for me.  Until next time, happy sewing!