Welcome to our annual Florals Rule contest. It was a huge success for the last two years, who doesn’t like a bit of florals for spring and summer.
So, here are the rules
1. You shall make a minimum of one garment - it can be anything, top, dress, skirt, jumpsuit, trousers....
2. If you want to make more than one entry, feel free to do so, but submit them in separate posts
3. Please clearly indicate what pattern you used and what, if any, changes you made
4. You don't need to use a commercial pattern, self drafted is fine
5. Sewing starts on May 1st, you can prepare & fit the pattern and cut before that date
6. Sewing finishes on May 31st, please post pictures by June 7th
7. Please use the template below when you submit your entry post
(your name)'s Entry (indicate the number if you have more than one entry ;))
What event/occasion is it for
Pattern used (commercial or self-drafted, anything goes)
A short description on how you made it/problems overcome/etc.
Pictures (ideally included in the text)
:flower: Happy Sewing :flower:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QkLbAajuQ0/TvFy_5YgjMI/AAAAAAAAA8g/cBaEACOm6aw/s1600/flower_145.gif)
I'm going to join in... I am going to make a floral blouse from this indigo/teal floral cotton. I will be using my TNT bias front blouse pattern, and inserting pale blue vintage micro rick rack (that I found on Etsy) as "piping" in the collar edge, and maybe down the front of the button band edges and the sleeve cuff bands
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E5afnK1mT1g/XrGhah08ZMI/AAAAAAAALLM/Xwd9boH5pxUHyLiR5ZuCZYzx31g-ujt3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blue-teal-floral.jpg)
When I took a closer look at the fabric before marking the pattern pieces and cutting them out, I realised that the print was directional, which I had somehow not noticed when I bought it. This will complicate the cutting layout, as it would look subtly wierd, I think, to have the foliage not all going in the same direction. This fabric has so many colors in the print (indigo, medium blue, light blue, teal, light teal, leaf green, gold, and white) that it will be wearable with all my pinafores, including the new teal/black chambray and the new grey linen both waiting to be stitched up... I am eager to finish cutting this blouse out and getting started!
almost there on my floral blouse... I still need to take some better photos than this "hanger shot" of it in the closet:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GkRD7rPIFcg/XsW-SBu95dI/AAAAAAAALQE/i34TWKgjMLAf0l-R37ShT5AQOdY53CE-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/floral-blouse-front.jpg)
indigotiger's Entry - Floral Blouse
What event/occasion is it for: everyday wear, especially in springtime
Pattern used: self-drafted TNT button front blouse pattern
I really wanted to make something cheerful to wear, and this teal floral print was a lot more colorful than my usual grey/brown/black/indigo wardrobe, while still being something that would coordinate with what is in my closet. I had purchased the fabric sometime in the past few years, probably because it reminded me of Liberty Lawn prints...
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E5afnK1mT1g/XrGhah08ZMI/AAAAAAAALLM/Xwd9boH5pxUHyLiR5ZuCZYzx31g-ujt3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blue-teal-floral.jpg)
Cutting out and putting the blouse together would be fairly straightforward, since it is a TNT pattern and my isolation weight loss didn't affect any crucial fitting issues, just made the blouse a little more loose fitting. However, for some reason, the project told me that it wanted to have decorative rick rack piping added to the collar and center front! (surely I am not the only seamster who has their projects "speak" to them) While I have done regular flat piping in the past, I have never worked with rick rack before, and after hunting for quite a while online, I found someone selling some vintage all cotton pale blue tiny rick rack... I wanted small, because I wanted subtle, not too twee. I didn't realise that the very narrow trim would be as difficult as it turned out to be to sandwich accurately when sewing the collar seams. There were a number of places I needed to go back and re-stitch, as the difference between catching the rick rack in the seam correctly, sewing it in too deeply so it didn't show, and not actually catching the little zig zags was literally a thread of difference.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q21jhAxbnAk/Xreqsh5hn_I/AAAAAAAALM4/OlI-nTCUWWY8AlfHyOBr5KFe9ZEK_3L9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/floral-blouse-collar.jpg)
Fortunately, stitching the rick rack into the front button bands was less fraught, as it could be done with the components all in plain sight:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Xs4_6jbsaI/XrrvHLi_KaI/AAAAAAAALOE/4C0gdpbacYAP-QplcRIhTTV1Dbol1Jr0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/insert-rickrack.jpg)
I was pretty pleased with the final effect of adding the rick rack trim, it did add just the touch of emphasis without making it look like a child's garment:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GkRD7rPIFcg/XsW-SBu95dI/AAAAAAAALQE/i34TWKgjMLAf0l-R37ShT5AQOdY53CE-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/floral-blouse-front.jpg)
Here is the blouse "as worn"... I am next planning on making a teal linen pinafore for an even more "summery" look, but as this blouse will coordinate with all the current pinafores in my closet, so I am quite content
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kYFJDRkGPF0/Xthc-3cTTqI/AAAAAAAALUA/lZK5E0rByHAqQPbhsih814_5jhErK3A9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/floral-blouse-done.jpg)