Unlike Ellen and myself Sofie is well endowed in the chest department. However she is fairly petite elsewhere. So it is difficult to find flattering clothes for her. She needs fitted clothes to show that she does have a figure. And it probably doesn't help with a mother that can point out how cheap the fabric is and how badly made the clothes are!
Anyway, on Saturday morning she was going to Brunswick Street with Ellen and her father, so I suggested she drop into Clear It (an outlet shop) and see if there were any Alannah Hill fabrics that she liked. She came home with two metres of silk chiffon!
Co-incidentally she was doing a school project on 2 designers - one current and one from the past. She chose Alannah Hill (of course) and Elsa Schiaparelli. I photographed her page on Alannah:
Unfortunately, we didn't get to making Sofie the skirt until the night before the dinner as Ellen's dress took much longer than I anticipated. She decided that she wanted a floaty skirt with layers. No problem!?
Making up as we went we used a basic skirt pattern. First we cut a lining out. Then cut 3 ruffles. We made the ruffles by cutting the skirt pattern (traced) into 3 and adding a couple of inches so that we could overlap. We then cut and spread to give volumn.
We hemmed the ruffles and stitched them to the skirt. We tried to use the overlocker/serger to roll hem but it the thread was cutting the silk. In the end it was all sewn on the sewing machine. I am surprised this did not turn out a disaster - we just about gave up at 10.00pm but I kept imagining Project Runway and Tim Gunn - "make it work". And make it work we did.
Getting desperate by 11.00pm we quickly decided to just add ribbon as a waist band.
Voila - a miracle - it actually looked pretty good! Thank goodness nobody will be inspecting it too closely. But for under $20 we have a very pretty silk skirt. The ruffles are not even (I really should learn more about bias) but that is the charm, isn't it? And certainly no worse than RTW!
13 comments:
Great job on the skirt! Sophie does look very pleased. I can totally relate to a well endowed DD on a petite frame. I'm sitting at the computer having a break after doing an FBA on DD's dress pattern. (Fingers crossed it works). Dresses for 12yo's don't allow for a B-cup bust and the Misses patterns are all far to big everywhere else. Sigh! On the other hand shopping is a nightmare as you said. Tried that two weeks ago and I was the one who came home grumpy. :) Luckily I'm use to altering patterns for a bigger bust. :)
Cute skirt! You have beautiful and lucky daughters.
You both look fabulous! The skirt is beautiful, fun and flirty and fits her great. Kudos to you both for churning this one out!
I also loved you whole post- could picture you out there shopping. It takes one to know one :))
Well when you come back...you come back with a bang! Sometimes the most important thing is to get it done and make them happy. Not every outfit can be couture sewing ~ if this was the case I would NEVER wear anything! *LOL*
She looked great!
WOW indeed! You did a fantastic job on both garments. It sounds like it was a very successful event all around.
Nice work on the skirt! Sophie looks fantastic.
Sophie has a figure that's very similar to my sister's 17-year-old daughter--slim but well-endowed. You will get a kick out of this: Next weekend my sister and I are taking my flat-chested daughter and her buxom one into the city and the four of us are all getting professionally measured for bras at a store called Bra Smythe. Fun!
Good job the two of you did. Sophie's skirt is very good on her, and she looks pleased with it.
Sofie looks great in the skirt you both made. It's good that she was happy with the results.
Hi Vickie, You have a lovely daughter.You both looked great for the important occasion. I looked back at your birthday dress. It's gorgeous.!
you commented on my hats and mitts and why no scarves. A little six year old girl suffocated on a school bus because her scarf got caught in something( I don't remember what)and the bus being crowded, no one noticed she was in distress. When the bus driver had finished his round, he found her while cleaning up his bus.Can you even imagine how her Mum and Dad ,and the driver must have felt? A sad story that still brins tears to my eyes.
Great job on both outfits. The dress is adorable. I like Sophie's choice for footwear. So original. The skirt must have been delicious to wear.
Love the skirt. Your daughter looks greatttt
What fun that you have daughters to sew such lovely things for. The skirt looks like it would be fun to wear. Light and feminine, with a lot of movement. Though I can imagine sewing the chiffon may not have been so fun. The dress is beautiful and I love your daughter's sense of style. Great sock and shoe combo!
The skirt turned out quite well! Great job!
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