Love-in-idleness

First of all, thank you to everyone for your suggestions on how to navigate Facebook – I feel so very “liked”!  And thank you for making me feel a little less silly about my coffee making inadequacy, not to mention once again reminding me that there are quite a few kindred spirits in the world!

I have finally finished my latest project - a summery shirt and skirt combo.  The look is a bit 1950s waitress, all that is missing is a pair of roller skates and apron. 

This outfit started with some very old quilting cotton with a lovely pansy motif and an idea.  I thought that Butterick 5882 would make a lovely skirt, and the shirt portion of Butterick 5895 was just too cute to pass by.  Put them together, and this is what you get!

The original plan was foiled when I did not have quite enough fabric.  Aargh! 

This is not the first time I have assumed that a cute little blouse will require next to nothing in the way of yardage.  And once again, I was wrong.  When am I going to learn?  Large pattern pieces do not fit on leftover scraps!

One thing I will say:  this shirt is short.  Yes, I generally add a bit to a pattern’s torso length, but without a high-waisted skirt or pair of pants this is going to show the midriff, even on a petite frame.

Not to be deterred, I set out to find a contrasting fabric.  Those massive facing pieces would just have to play along.

Of course, once I had my contrast, I decided that the multi-fabric choice was going to look utterly ridiculous.  But since I already had cut almost everything out, I kept going.

Turns out, I love the contrasting collar and ties!  The solid color actually breaks up the busy cotton print quite nicely.  So much for first impressions!  I added a bit of piping to the skirt's waist seam to make the two pieces more of an outfit.

And there was a bit of twirling . . .

Blouse:  Made by me, Butterick 5895

Skirt:  Made by me, Butterick 5882

Shoes:  Hinge

Bracelet:  Borrowed from mom