Nautical Obsession

I'm not sure what to call this make....a kimono..duster...jacket....bath robe....vest...beach cover up? It has become all those things to me. I have worn this everywhere! I wake up in the morning and just put it on. Everyday. ok...that may be a bit of an exaggeration...but not far off.

I made it using McCalls 7200. I love the look of a Kimono style top and when I found this print I knew what pattern to turn to. My obsession with patterns serves me well this way. 

I made view A and the only change I made was adding 20 inches to the length. That was it! So easy. I added so much to the length that I didn't have enough fabric for the facing so I used a navy and white floral that I had in my stash. I didn't get picture of it....sorry.

I wanted to wear it with navy shorts and forgot that I had made these...I felt that they were perfect for this look. You can see the original post here.

A close up of the print... and in the picture below you can see just a peek of the floral facing.
Can you spot it?

Here I am at the beach. Gilllian..I have now completed my dare to make something beachy! Sorry it took so long! Gillian also inspired me to take pictures in a new location.
Check out her Better Pictures Project!

 This kimono goes perfectly with my high waisted two piece bathing suit. I made the bottoms and a couple others like it about three years ago but have never blogged about them. I love a high waist bikini and this nautical one is my absolute favorite bathing suit ever! I actually made two of them...I'm at the beach a lot. Maybe I will one day share how I made them in a post....

All covered up...

I don't know if it is because I live on the coast....but my obsession with nautical, navy and white outfits is deep. I can't seem to stop...

Feeling Lucky

Have you ever had one of those days that started out kinda crummy then turned into AWESOMENESS! I had one of those just the other day. I won't get into the crummy part cause who really wants to hear that.... 

So I was out and about with daughter no 2...getting some things together to send her off to school. We planned to get some blog photos after we finished but ran out of time, she had to run off to work. Bummer. Right? We all know how hard it is to get photos and I got all dolled up for these ones....ugh.

My luck turned when I ran into this amazing woman....

 I'm always happy to see her, we chat about fabric and blog stuff...so already my day was on an up swing. 

Just stop now and go check her out! Then come back...of course!

Source

So gorgeous right!??

Mo is amazingly talented and stylish! I love everything she wears and she wears her style with such confidence and flair. The girl can rock a tutu like no one I know. Want to know her creds... 

Style Expert | Fashion Writer | Content Curator , Stylelist Canada | Style Panel & Plus Size Contributor, FASHION Magazine

She is also the creator of Clutch Couture and sells her amazing skirts at The Tutu Experience on Etsy. If you want to know some great places to eat when you are here in Halifax then definitely check out Mo's blog...and Instagram +misslionhunter   We are so lucky to have her living right here in our beautiful city!

Ok so on with my story... I ran into her and she told me I looked great and that I must be shooting for the blog today. I said yes, that was the plan but that my daughter didn't have time. So what does Mo do? SHE OFFERS TO TAKE MY PICS! Isn't she the sweetest! Just watch me jump all over that! 

Thank you Mo for taking these pics for me! I'm sorry for being such a derp... when I looked at the pics I was a bit glazed over and stood there like a stature, hardly moving at all! You picked such a great location and the composition was spot on but your model was... Queen Derp! I'll do better next time...promise!

Now on to my top... I made this McCalls 7133 top in a tropical print and was surprised at how much I liked it. So I knew that another one was going to be immediately moved up in the sewing queue. I have this gorgeous navy blue lace in my stash and with its lovely scalloped edge, I knew it would make a pretty crop top. Once again, I removed the center back seam and moved the zipper to the side seam, inserting it upside down like my last one. I used the scalloped edge for the hemline and I love how it looks in contrast with my ivory lace skirt.

I love that scalloped edge so much!!

I felt so ladylike in my outfit and we all know how much I love a navy and white outfit. I can see this top with my white pants as or a pair of culottes...got to get to making those... or navy and white striped skirt..... hmmm... why haven't I made one of those already?

It never really ends does it?  There is always something else to sew....

Floral Voile

During the long grueling winter, I dreamed of hot summer days when I would need to have pretty dresses made from lovely fabrics like this voile to keep me cool... well I'm still waiting for summer to hit us full force. It has only been teasing us here and there. Whenever the sun does come out for a moment...I dash outdoors for a few blog pictures. 

I used V1344 for this dress and made it exactly as per the pattern. I think that overall it looks pretty good. There are only a two issues that I may have with it... 1) I find that the voile combined with the batiste lining made this dress a little more bulky than I would have liked. I really wanted to line the voile because the white lining made the colors in the print pop so much more than without. 2) The shoulders can look a little bit Star Trekish... kinda pointy and full for me and my already broad shoulders.

Pattern: Vogue 1344

Fabric used: A lovely cotton print voile.

Instructions: No problems there. 

Changes I made: I didn't make any changes to this dress but next time I may omit the front overlay/ruffle thing, to reduce some bulk.

Repeat worthy: Sure. It makes a great summer dress!

What does a girl with broad shoulders need....gathers on those shoulders...yeah.

And for good measure...put them in the back too... I wonder if I could alter the pattern to remove these? Anyone?

Here I am trying to show you the front overlay. It is a little hard to see in pictures.

All that nit picking...but when I step back to look at it, I'm pleased with the overall look. I should be proud of good workmanship and quality. I do want to be honest with my readers for when they go to make the same pattern... but how far do you have to really go with it?  Why do we pick apart our work so much? I know that I'm not the only one who does this. Time to stop. Time to say...
I made this and it's great!