January 29, 2016

Sew: Tessuti Kate top & By Hand London Flora skirt



My cousin got married last weekend on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula. I picked up this amazing Max Mara cotton sateen from Tessuti Melbourne way back in October with good intentions to get cracking on this outfit. I knew I wanted to make a two piece outfit with a full A-line skirt and a cropped tank top. And that's as far as I got...

I finally bought the patterns on New Year's Eve. I also got the netting to underline the skirt. My plan was to crank it out while the boys were on holidays with my parents (hello, camping at the beach!). Instead I went out a few nights with my husband, as you do when you don't have the kids. I also spent a few nights stuck on the couch with Netflix, just because. I then got sick with some nasty virus which rendered me bed-ridden for a few days. And then the boys were back!

Once I did start, I encountered numerous problems with the skirt. I'd folded a good 20cm of width out of the skirt flare and didn't re-do the curve of the waistband. Rookie mistake. So when it came to attaching the waistband to the skirt, there were massive folds of fabric at the hip near the waistband. The fabric wanted to bunch up. I knew something was off in this area as the angle at the side seam - waistline corner was too sharp. So I unpicked the waistband, side seam invisible zip and re-drew the waistline curve. Removing 5cm off the top of the waist at the side seam and tapering it back to the existing centre front. I then re-inserted the zip and re-attached the waistband. Outfit saved!

I finished the outfit at 11am on the day of the wedding. We dropped the boys with friends at midday and drove to Geelong for the wedding. Close call! I'm pleased to report I wasn't hand stitching in the car on the way. My grandmother was famous for doing that!

The top was no trouble at all. I made quite a few alterations (see below) and hemmed it temporarily so I can unpick it to return it to a more everyday length.

I most likely won't wear this outfit again as a complete set but I really want to wear the individual pieces frequently. I've already worn the skirt to work this week, paired with a white t-shirt and black flats.

Project Details - Top
Pattern: Tessuti Kate Top, view B, size L
Fabric: Cotton sateen from Tessuti Melbourne
Alterations: Straightened and shortened hem by 12cm, removed 4cm from back neckline, omitted back opening and side splits, turned binding to the inside
See also: Boo Dogg & Me | Bombazine | Thornberry | Barbara Jane Made

Project Details - Skirt 
Pattern: By Hand London Flora Dress (skirt front pattern piece only), UK size 18
Fabric: Cotton sateen from Tessuti Melbourne
Alterations: Removed about 20cm from front and back width, reshaped waistline curve, added straight 4cm wide waistband, topstitched Mokuba ribbon to waistband
See also: Closet Case Files | By Hand London

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