gettin' skirty - BHL inspired pleated skirt.

This little number was a simple sew - done in about 1.5hours, from cutting to completion.. buttons and all.

It is loosely inspired by the back panels of the BHL - flora dress. I have made her before, see here.

I used the back panel piece to make the skirt, slimming the original pleats to fit into my 145cm wide fabric. I have said it before, but this skirt is huge. And I lengthened it by 5cm.

I can't say I am full happy with this hacked effort. I like the skirt, and will wear it, I think i need to nip it in at the waist a little bit. But I regret slimming down the pleat size, as in my mind I was imagining huge box pleats.... Ahhhh... sewing regrets.

Wide skirt shot -  I love a wide swishy skirt.

The wide skirt makes it a great for twirling. This is obviously an every day MUST for skirts.

And... SWISHY....

The fabric is a really nice cotton sateen I picked up on a recent trip to Tasmania, however I have seen whispers on instgram that it is also available at the Cloth Shop, in Ivanhoe Melbourne.

 Because I wanted to keep this as a fast 'n' dirty sew up, I just ran the edges through the overlocker and used my previously drafted waistband with overlap for button holes, then easing the skirt into the waistband piece.

The SPECS:

Pattern: Flora franken-pattern-hack with self drafted waist band.

Fabric: Cotton Sateen, sourced in Tasmania.

Size: 14

Time: 1.5 hours.

Satisfaction: Meh.

Shoes: Lotta from Stockholm, Glasses - Oscar Wylee, Cropped Tee - Zoe Mac.

The BHL obsession continues with these ladies calling my name in the night... Who else has met Anna, Kim and Sophia? Are you guys BFF's as well.!?

3 little flower girl dresses...

After a month of the most precise steaming, cutting, sewing and measuring.. the flowergirl dresses for my best friends wedding were complete!

Also - apologies in advance for the picture heavy post - These girls were just too cute not to include the snaps!

I used the pattern - Vogue V7819.

View A was used.

The dress construction ended up being very simple. Huge rectangle pieces gathered at the waist (I had pre-tacked tulle to these pieces) and then a three piece bodice. No darts, obviously for the little girls, made for easy sewing. Then repeated again for the lining, with a slimmer lining skirt.

The little girls, our dress, and the wedding dress in a row..

The measurements were way off on the pattern envelope, which is not unusual for a big 4 pattern, and I ended up needing to place each of the girls measurements against the flat pattern to pick a size, and then sewed a straight size 2 & 3, with the lengths varying for each of their heights.

Daisy, Tatum and Josie - so sweet.

I added a sash around the waist, to hide the gathered seam-line. Just plain ribbon. The pattern included a sash piece, however, it was quite bulky and didn't look as neat as just the piece of satin ribbon.

The girls showing off their sweet little shoes... sparkly gold.

The dresses took me far longer than they should have, considering they are such a simple sew up! But it is the whole 'selfless sewing' part that means it takes so much longer to finish something... And I was a bit anal in getting construction right...

Megs 'helping'.

But I did have some help from Megs and Heli - my sister and mother. We ended up having a constuction line going with Megs pining, me sewing and Heli pressing - very efficient!

Hugs for the new BFF's...

Group hugs.. X

Happy little ladies - enjoying their day!

They loved wearing white with the Bride!

Ouch! Blisters...

Daisy lost her Sash before the walk down the aisle commenced!

Another wonderful wedding - and I am so happy to have been able to contribute! The little girls loved their dresses!

Specs:

Pattern: Vogue V8719

Size: 1 x size 2 & length 3, 1 x size 2 & length 2 and 1 x size 3 & length 4.

Fabric: Silk Taffeta, bridal tulle and Bemberg silk lining. Waist sash is satin ribbon.

Cost: For the pattern and fabric, a bargain of $145-. 

And of course - the dashing bride and groom enjoyed their day. Looking beautiful and having an amazing time. Their next chapter will be exciting and after 11 years together, married life will be a breeze!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Wright!