Hi there. I hope you’ve been enjoying Aunty Laura’s recent posts about her refashion take on the iconic Rear Window Dress.
I’m going to interrupt the flow a little and take things in an entirely different direction, to be specific, into the jungle. I couldn’t possibly skip Jungle January after the fun I had sewing along last year.
I have to confess, I did something I had intended not to. After Jungle January 2013, Anne sent me this incredible purple leopard/cheetah blouse-weight fabric. My plan was to NOT wait for the next Jungle January to sew it up. Unfortunately, it fell victim to it’s own awesomeness, and I was paralyzed with wanting to make it into just the right patterns, so I delayed and delayed cutting into it while it marinated in the fabric stash. Finally I made a decision, and it is all good. Here’s a closer look at the print.
Where to start? Let’s start with my outfit. I used vintage Simplicity 1284, making both the blouse and the jumper. My measurements so closely match vintage half-sizes with a bust 41 measurement that I didn’t have to do any alterations other than moving the front dart points about an inch south. (Not sure what they were using to get their apexes that high back in 1955, but I certainly don’t have it). I also took off a bit of the blousy-ness of the top by stitching the side seams with a larger than 5/8″ seam allowance. I just did a try-on, see how it looks kind of thing, so I don’t know exactly how much I took off.
My favorite feature of the pattern? The giant front pockets, of course. Plenty of room for phone, keys, ID, lipstick, and still with room left over for kids to hand me random flashlights and stuffed animals to put in them too.
My least favorite part of the pattern? There are 12 darts (or tucks) on the jumper and 14(!) on the blouse. I like the shaping this gives, but that was a lot of darts to make. I think the jumper would be more fitted in a different fabric, but I used stretch velveteen, so it has a lot of give. The back looks pretty fitted, though the shoulders seem to have stretched a bit with stitching.
We ran out of time to take pictures this morning, so these are after I’d been wearing the outfit all day. There are wrinkles; the ones on the front are worse than the back, because Ace decided to take a nap on my lap for the afternoon.
Guinevere’s jumper is from Burda Printed Pattern 9675. I managed to look past the horrible color-blocked fleece option printed on the envelope to find what is actually a nice, basic-shaped girl’s jumper with a nod to the 1960’s. I added a little length so she has some growing room.
The blouse is from Ottobre Kids 1/2013, pattern #29. I made her a size 110, and it fits just right. This was my first time making up an Ottobre pattern, and while it is a pain to trace/add seam allowances, I still think it was worth it. It’s a well-drafted pattern, and the shape/style is classic, but a bit unique with a front yoke plus a collar stand and separate front button bands. I have plans to get photos of the blouse with another piece I recently made that goes with it.
I have to throw this picture in because I like it. She saw a squirrel on the fence and got distracted from the formalities of photo-taking.
I put an invisible zipper in the jumper. Guinevere thought that was especially nifty. I just did it because putting lapped zippers in stretch velveteen tends to be a giant pain with less than impressive results most of the time. The lining of the jumper bodice is made of left over scraps from my Banana Anna dress.
We spent the day at an Assembly for worship. Though it’s a relatively safe environment, there was just a bit of extra security knowing that if Guinevere and I got separated in the crowd of about 1,100, we’d probably get reunited fairly quickly since we were a matched pair.
Both fabrics I used came out of my stash. This year I’m counting projects instead of fabrics. I’m choosing to count each piece in these ensembles as separate projects. They were plenty involved, and allow for mixing/matching; I feel justified.
Stash busting stats: 4/50. Yardage estimate for the year: 8 yards
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