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Summery pink outfit: Brume and Eucalypt

Hello everyone! I wanted to make a more summery version of my beloved Deer and Doe Brume skirt. I just realized that I haven’t blogged about half of them yet, so I guess you don’t know of my eternal love for this skirt. I now have 6 versions of this skirt in my closet. My winter/spring/fall versions (the long length) are made of ponte knit, which wear really nicely, but get a bit sweaty when the temperatures start climbing. The black one is the exception, which is made of a soft cotton jersey, but black in the sun is also not my idea of fun.

I quickly dismissed the idea of doing a white version. White tends to attract spaghetti sauce and curry, so I decided to go for a light pink cotton jersey. It’s almost a ‘nude’ colour on me, and I like it a lot better than the tan version I made. The fabric is not as stretchy as I’d like. I probably should have sized up, as you can see there are drag lines across the front.

I made this version using the mini length of the Brume pattern. I find it to be a little bit on the short side. While not a true ‘mini’ skirt, I still feel a little bit insecure in it, so I’ve added a few centimetres of length for my other versions.

Because of the length, the fact that it’s a tiny bit see-through, and that it’s not nearly as stretchy as I’d like, I’m not sure how much wear I will get out of it. So if anyone would like to have it, feel free to contact me on instagram or via email. I made size 42/L but it would probably fit a size 40/M better.

(If you want to check out my other versions: black here and grey here)

I almost forgot about the top! It’s a Megan Nielsen Eucalypt top. It’s made out of a polyester crepe I’ve had in my stash since my Fabricland days >12 years ago. While I really love the print and the colours of this top, I’m definitely not a fan of it being 100% polyester. Luckily, since it’s sleeveless and fairly loose, it’s not so bad on a warm day with a breeze, but it’s not suitable for a sweltering summer’s day. Well, what can I say, you learn with age that natural fabrics are far superior to plastic.

My only complaint about this top is that it gapes a little bit at the front armhole. I thought sizing down would help that, but it doesn’t (it just made it tighter across the chest). If I did a FBA, that would add a bust dart and I love the fact that this top doesn’t have that. However, looking at the pictures I see that it’s hardly noticeable, so I might not do any adjustments in the future except to stretch the bias tape a bit while sewing. I did this on a knit version and it solved the problem really well.

Thanks for stopping by!

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über sexy Ondee + Brume outfit

This outfit combination makes me feel oh so sexy, while being comfortable at the same time. How many outfits can do that??? Not many, I tell you. This combination is brought to you by Deer and Doe. The Ondee sweater is a cropped top perfect for pairing with high-waisted skirts and dresses. The Brume skirt is a high-waisted pencil skirt made from knit fabric.

The Ondee sweater pattern has short sleeves, long sleeves, scoop neck, or contrasting collar. I have tried them all (more blog posts to come…) and I like the scoop neck with either sleeve variation. What’s great about this pattern is how quickly it comes together. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pattern that sews up this quickly, especially if you use a serger/overlocker. I think it takes me about 2 or 3 hours from cutting to finishing, which means someone who sews quickly, this will take only about an hour. The reason it comes together so quickly is that there are no hems to turn under, it’s all finished with bands (the neckline, sleeves, and hem). Not only that, but you hardly need any fabric at all for this top. You only need 1m or 1.1m, or less if you’re not worried about the grain. I made one of these tops with a scrap of 80 or 90cm I think. I did modify the pattern a little bit for this top. I lengthened it by 3cm so that I’m not showing any skin unless I lift my arms.

This particular top was made with polyester jersey I found on a trip to Innsbruck, Austria quite a few years ago. Or it might have been Germany…. I think I originally bought it with the Briar top in mind, but I kind of felt that maybe a Briar was a bit too casual to go with this print. I just went ahead and cut out my Ondee, hoping as I was cutting that I was making the ‘right’ decision. I really think I did! It’s such a cute top and because it’s such a bright and busy print, it’s not too overwhelming as a crop top.

The Brume skirt is also a fairly quick sew. I sewed it on the sewing machine instead of the serger so that it’s less bulky. There are quite a few pieces for a pencil skirt (front, back, side front, side back, yoke, waistband), but it’s totally worth it because it fits so beautifully around your curves. The fact that it’s jersey makes the fitting really easy. I have a fairly small waist compared to my hips, but I didn’t have to do any fitting adjustments. I’ve made this pattern a few times now, and my only recommendation is to topstitch the seams with a zigzag instead of a twin needle. I found the twin needle made the seams a bit wavy, and you really want those curves on the butt area to be smooth.

This black jersey is 97% cotton and 3% spandex. That means that it recovers nicely and doesn’t get stretched out like 100% cotton jersey would. It’s a versatile piece because you can wear it with boots in the winter and regular shoes for the rest of the seasons. A black pencil skirt never goes out of style, so unless the colour really fades, this skirt is going to get a lot of wear.  I would definitely recommend this skirt pattern!

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A bombardment of stashbusting briars Part 3 of 3

Welcome to part 3 of my stashbusting briars. If you want to make your own, order the briar pattern here.

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Version 3: Short sleeves

Get ready for a few crazy photos. I think I got tired of ‘normal’ posing by the last top.

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For part 1 click here

For part 2 click here

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A bombardment of stashbusting briars Part 2 of 3

Welcome to part 2 of my stashbusting briars. If you want to make your own, order the briar pattern here.

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Version 2: 3/4 length sleeves

For this version, I added 3cm to the length. I had added 2cm to the long sleeved one, but I wanted to make the hem a bit wider, thus the extra centimeter. I’m not crazy about the neckline facing in this one, not the facing itself but just the way it drapes on me. I like the one on the long sleeved one better, which I did with a needle.

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The unflattering but necessary back view.

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I think I was channeling Amanda from Bimble and Pimble in this one.

click here for part 1

click here for part 3

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A bombardment of stashbusting briars Part 1 of 3

I am sitting on the couch in a ray of sunshine and I can barely see my computer screen but I don’t care! Even though the temperatures are low, the sun offers a promise that spring is around the corner if I’m just a wee bit patient.

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Briar is definitely my favourite pattern at the moment. I only had time to make one in February for the sewalong, but now that I have a bit more time, I’ve been whipping them up like nobody’s business!

They probably take about 2 hours in total (a little more than two episodes of your favourite show) to make, including cutting out the fabric. There are only 4 pieces: a front, a back, and two sleeves, and because it’s made of jersey fabric, there’s no need for zippers. The only zipping you’re doing is zipping through this project!

I don’t have a serger, so I used a zigzag stitch for the seams and then trimmed them down to about 0.7cm (half of the seam allowance). And the hems were done with a twin needle. This is a must for sewing with jersey/knit fabric in my humble opinion!

The only other thing I’d say is to PRESS THOSE SEAMS AND HEMS. It’s recommended in the instruction booklet, and you should take it to heart.  I kept coming out with wavy hems, for example. I stretched them out a bit, then pressed them, and the tops look just like they came off a rack.

I’ve broken this post into 3 parts, one for each version of the briar. The other two are 3/4 sleeve and short sleeves.

GET READY FOR LOTS OF PHOTOS!

Version 1: long sleeves

For this version, I added 2 cm to the length of the top and I finished the neckline with a twin needle, just like with the hems.

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Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3