It's Alice Again

There's not much to say about this top as I've already made 2 versions.  The fabric I've used is one of those cotton synthetic blends in a lovely shade of dusky orange. I really didn't know what colour to call it, but dusky sounds good to me. I've used this type of fabric in several things before and I really like it. I still give it a little bit of an iron on a low setting, but it doesn't need much. It's a nice cool top for work in the hot months.

 
I've pared it with an olive green skirt which has been sitting in my wardrobe for about 3 years now. I wore it for a friend's wedding and wasn't too sure about the fabric (a cotton sateen) because it can look quite crushed after about 5 minutes of wearing. The plain sateens hide absolutely nothing unfortunately.  The pattern is my usual go to A-line skirt pattern New Look 6053. 

Festive Cambie

Golly it's here again, the season of festivus.  During a recent sale at Lincraft I was picking up some bargains and waiting in line for my purchase when  it occurred to me it would be a good time to look at fabric for a Christmas party frock. Plus with 40% off it was a perfect time to buy. There was really no competition when I saw this funky gold and silver check fabric.  For some reason it put me in mind to try making another Cambie.  I had a vision for the contrasting fabric and it all came together. 

Initially I thought about the full skirt version of the Cambie.  The Cambie is quite an easy dress to make, just a number of different stages to get through, what with a waistband, fan sleeves and lining.  My first Cambie was a festival of suck.  The sizing was way too big and you could see the lining in the fan sleeve/straps. I had to re-do the lining and that was annoying. Couldn't do much about the sizing. It's wearable but disappointing. 

I left a little shaping in the top of the bodice, but overall it's quite straight.  As you can see I finished up the A-line skirt in the end. I did the full skirt and it look a tad ridiculous with the stiff fabric. Plus  when I attached the skirt to the waistband I accidentally caught in some extra fabric so had to unpick anyways.   

Quite happy with the end result.  The photos don't really show the colours at their best. And I really need to straighten my camera on the tripod next time. 

And finally my little helpers. Polly-Jean in the background obviously just straightening up my fabric before I put the pattern pieces down. And the lovely Salem who is our foster kitty.  He is a very well behaved cat. I hate to think the bad habits he is learning from my angel.