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pattern: amy butler's barcelona skirts
difficulty (1-5): 2.5
pattern size: small (6-8)
fabric: 1.5 yd of amy butler's belle in sea green coriander, blue cotton lawn for lining, 7" invisible zipper

i have been secretly stalking amy butler's barcelona skirt ever since i these photos on her website. it was the most spring, anne of green gables kind of beauty i've seen. so finally i'm making my own, with her pattern and fabric, i'm copying this one, without any imagination of my own.

a lined skirt is just that much more substantial than one without. before i started this project, i have also studied boden's skirts for construction ideas. most of them were lined with cotton lawn, instead of the more traditional acetate, or polyester. so blue cotton lawn it was for my amy's layer skirt. i picked out the green zipper th match, in the end, i think it turned out very well. color coordinating wise.

amy's patterns are great. and this is the first time i tried her garment patterns. i'm really pleased with the clarity of wording and illustrated instructions. i had some issues with fitting hence a couple adjustments were made:

the size indicated on the pattern was for finished garments. i wasn't paying that much attention before i cut it so i had cut the wrong size (worse thing for pattern cutting!). so, to resolve this i cut off 2 inches of the top layer to allow for the waist. unfortunately, it made the skirt sit too low. i had to later seam up a couple inches around the waist. it made the finishing a little messy, but, i love the fit with this adjustment.

secondly, i did not hem the skirt. i just stitched up 1/2 inches above hemline and let it frayed. i thought it looks better with the overall washed, frayed look.

what i love the most was the zipper. i love how invisible it was! i was a little confused if i had installed it correctly, especially with the lining. i checked other skirts in my wardrobe, some with linings sewn together with the zipper flap (ie, it was sandwiched between the lining and the exterior). not sure which one is better, either way, i love zippers!

i'm also pretty happy with my craftsmanship this time, all lines were managed to match up! it was definitely worth my time to sew with a little more attentive attitude.

you can never have enough summer skirts, so i'm making another one (non-layered version) whenever i get another chance to sew again.

posted by blossom at 11:25 AM | Comments (23)

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pattern: simplicity 4077
difficulty (1-5): 3
pattern size: 8
fabric: 1.2 yd of lblack italian linen

if white linen belongs to the beach; black linen, is for the city. a city with summer rain.

i had finally had time to sew again. instead of deciding which print goes for which pattern, i made a shirt with this pattern again. with black linen, sleeveless. like the linen shirt you would see in yohji yamamoto's collection. i called it my yohji shirt.

my linen print was somewhat loosely woven but black prevents it from looking transparent. it's a little coarse, but i know with time, it will be soft like cotton, all wrinkly. my shirt will get friendlier with time.

black linen is quite photogenic, i'm happy with how it looks under the afternoon sun. though i think it's darkness goes better with a cloudy sky.

black shell buttons in my yohji shirt. it's a constant reminder of summer.

posted by blossom at 11:00 AM | Comments (15)

i've been admiring ella's jewelry for a long time, they are gorgeous beyond words. i'm not usually a big fan of jewelry, unless they signify something special.

i bought this bracelet from ella not just because it is pretty, but also i want to show my support to this wonderful creative community we are embracing.

thanks, ella!

--
summer is here. in atlanta. everyday i wake up to the blaring sunlight. summer is also a vacation time, too bad we are not taking vacations just yet. i just got around posting some more of my older knitting projects on flickr (oh, how i love flickr!). instead of just posting them, i will also add a bit of my comments for each project.

it's kind of surprising how few of them get worn. i really need to think about my project selection process. socks however, always get worn. best return on knitting time.

busy week, more later!

posted by blossom at 03:19 PM | Comments (6)