Tag: Circle

Circle Culottes

At some point I found an old blog post from Petit Main Sauvage about half-circle culottes. I had just bought quite a length of blue fabric with ivy leaves on and figured this would be the perfect time to create full length half circle culottes following the tutorial. So did just that. I also wanted to add some straps to both combat stretching from the waist being on the bias and because I like dungaree type things. Initially the idea was to make a full apron top-thing, but that looked ridiculous so it was scrapped.

I’d finished most of it in January, but then it needed hemming and I sort of chucked it in the corner until I could find the courage to do that. So it took me until May to find that courage. I had most of the straps already sewn, but I needed an attachment method. I finally decided on a cross-strap option with elastic in the middle. Attached to the pants with buttons on the inside. Once I had it finished, I took it out for a short jaunt to the shops. I discovered that the straps needed some shortening and the facing attached more soundly to the inside of the pants, so I made another button-hole and managed to fix those problems.

Now, I just need to find occasions to wear this. I think they might be quite comfortable in summer because you can get quite a nice breeze going. We’ll see how that goes.\

Graduation Winter 2018

So the inspiration for this one was based on these two pins: skirt & dress. The bottom is two half circle skirts, and the top is the always fabulous garden party dress, somewhat hacked. I used a knit fabric that was black on one side and had a diagonal plaid pattern on the other side. The bottom had a kind of odd graffiti border, but I choose not to show that, and it’s now the inside of the outer skirt. There was not a lot of fabric left after cutting two half circle skirts, so I had to make some choices to conserve fabric.

Those little reverse triangles in the shoulder meant I could position the front more economically on the fabric. For the sleeves, I did use the original sleeve width, but the sleeve caps of a t-shirt pattern were substituted. I made the sleeves as long as I could with what fabric remained. However, elbow length sleeves are the devil – cold underarms. So I decided to attempt a kind of bishop sleeve by using another piece of fabric. This worked! It’s just about long enough and has the shallowest hem I could manage.

One of the hardest parts of this dress was figuring out how to do pockets. For events like this, I need to have pockets to put my phone and the schedule etc in. Since there were no side seams, in seam pockets would be hard. Making symmetric welt pockets in a stretchy knit would also not be my idea of fun, also because I did not have a lot of fabric left. In the end I made giant patch pockets. They are not super visible, but did work very well.

I liked this dress, although it was not as successful in keeping out the cold as last year’s outfit was. Still, it performed its duty even if I did change into pants and a sweater halfway through the reception. For next year, I’ll try to find something warmer.

Double Duty

An old friend of mine notified us that she was getting married earlier this year. I knew that this would call for a brand new outfit. At some point in time I received the cutest wedding invitation card (it had bunnies!) which had a dress code on it: Tenue de Ville. I’d just bought a nice piece of fabric that could sort of fill that dress code. So I started work making a dress with a waterfall top and a skirt that could make use of the border print. At some point I put it on, and it just felt wrong. So, very, wrong – frumpy, not me, just terrible. So I chucked it in the corner (it’s still there) and set out on a plan B.

Plan B involved getting new fabric, since nothing I own is light-coloured or pastel or suitable to fit in Tenue de Ville. Of to the market on the next Thursday, and miraculously I found something that was relatively close to the mark. Light coloured, with green leaves and blue/purple flowers. It was some weird sort of stuff, almost like thin scuba. It didn’t fray at all, which made it really easy to work with.

As a tribute to the bride, I wanted a circle skirt, as she always wore them back when I met her. The fabric had some lettering, but the print wasn’t super directional, which allowed for that circle skirt. Then I needed to determine what to use for the top. I figured on the garden party top, as I know it fits without much hassle. But it needed something special, so I pinterested (is that a verb?) and found this pin. I liked the idea of the keyhole and the pointed waistband. In contrast to the inspiration I also incorporated binding and modified tulip sleeves.

This make felt so much better right out of the gates. It was super comfortable, it twirled so nicely and pockets. It was easy to dance in (queen of horrible dancing on the dance floor) and not too hot or cold. I was a fan.

It did have a test drive before the wedding. Two days before was convocation, a work event. I had this one finished in time (!), and I didn’t have the time or inclination to also make a dress for convocation so I wore this one instead. Therefore, this dress served double duty and will be put into regular rotation in my closet. It has been a super success!