Watermelon Two Piece 50's Style Playsuit

This just might be my favorite sewing project so far! I picked this fabric up 3 times in Joann's and put it back every single time, telling myself it was too over the top. It was on sale recently and I finally had to give in to temptation and scoop it up. To me, nothing says summer, more than watermelon! 

This watermelon playsuit is a collaboration between my trusty 3/4 circle skirt #Simplicity1200 and #Simplicity1426 version A! 

 

Normally this is something that I would feel far too self-conscious to wear. Honestly though, I feel like my fears are completely unfounded in this. It's so flattering and when I wear it, I feel like a million bucks! It's just so much fun. In this post, I'm going to talk mostly about the top, because the skirt is #Simplicity1200 which I've done several times now, here and here, no point in rehashing those details.

The only thing I changed on #Simplicity1426 was the neck band on the top. I mistakenly only cut out one piece when two was needed. After cutting everything else out, I didn't have enough fabric to fit one more. So I improvised and used the same simple black bias binding that I used to bind the hem of the skirt. I'm really glad I did too. I feel like having the black at the top and the bottom of the set creates a cohesiveness that I really like.

I used simple black buttons on both pieces so they would be minimal and understated. I wanted them to blend in with the outfit. I feel like they do just that.

#Simplicity1426 was a great pattern to sew, it sewed up quickly and the directions were really simple to follow. I'll be sewing this one again in one of the other versions I'm sure!

There isn't much else I can say about this make. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Now I just wish I could have an excuse to wear it more often!!

Thanks again for stopping by! This makes #vintagepledge number 9 for me!

Until the next time!

Flirty Flamingo Playsuit

This month I decided to join in for #SpringForCotton hosted by the lovely Rochelle over at Lucky Lucille. 

Then I stumbled onto The Monthly Stitch and saw that the challenge for the month of April was "Put a BIRD on it!" 

So, since flamingos are, in fact, birds, I decided to stitch up and use this flirty little play-suit to complete both challenges! 

As you know from my last post I spent the last two glorious weeks in the Sunshine State enjoying some lovely times with my family. I just managed to get this finished up in the last few days of vacation and had the chance to have it photographed with the lovely palm trees. I miss palm trees so much. But I digress.

This play-suit is a mash-up of McCall's M6969 and the skirt from Vogue V9000. I did view C of the romper and just used the skirt pattern as a template for the gores.

My fabric for this project is this lovely,vibrant, flamingo print, 100% cotton, shirting and a solid pink quilting cotton. I'd been eyeing the flamingo print for about four months and happened to go in with a 50% off coupon and snagged 5 yards of this for only $25! That's a huge bargain as far as I'm concerned.

I also settled on self-covered buttons for this project.

For the construction of the first part, the romper, I decided that I wanted to do a solid color top and use the flamingo print on the bottom. I wanted it to look as if it were two pieces without actually being so. I also liked the idea of being able to wear the romper by itself with a belt and have it still look like a two piece set.

I added the white bias binding on all of the hems. I really liked how the contrast of the white played against the brighter colors.

Due to the long trip and baggage regulations, I was only able to bring limited supplies with me to my mom's. Luckily, she is also a sewist and was willing to share her sewing room with me during my stay.

That also included getting to sew it up on her Husqvarna Viking Designer 1!! This thing sews like a dream. Seriously, it's worth every very expensive penny. While I hope my mother lives forever, I also hope she leaves this to me in her will... unless she decides one day to upgrade and feels the need to pass this on to me. I wouldn't complain one bit.

Lovely woman that my mother is, she also played my photographer for this project. Usually I just photograph my makes on Millie, my dress form. Unfortunately, she was still at home in Ohio and my mother doesn't have one. So that meant, I had to get dolled up and get outside and in front of the camera. We are by no means professionals, but they didn't turn out to bad for cell phone pics. 

So there you have it. This is #vintagepledge make number 3 for me! I'm over half way to my goal of 5 for the year. I guess it's time to unpack, clean up and figure out what my next project will be!!

Much love!!