Linen and Liberty Lisette

There have been so many great pattern releases this year and it's only May and I could have quite a long list of things I'd like to sew.  I am, however, trying very hard to be very selective in what I make, so that I don't go too over-the-top and I want to try and stick to my Project 333.

So one of my most recent choices was the Sewlisette patterns (Butterick 6182).  There were four of these patterns released, three of which I just had to purchase.  (I know, that's not very restrained) but I particularly liked this one.

I chose to make the top first, it's a simple boxy style top and although it is boxy there are centre front horizontal and vertical darts which give it shape.

The fabric is the cornflower blue biolinen from dragonflyfabrics.  It is a little bit on the pricey side but it is really lovely, one of my favourite colours and I think it will only get better with wear and washing.  I will probably have to invest in some more at some stage.

The sleeves on this top are kimono style with quite deep sleeve bands and for this I used Liberty Tana Lawn Hampton wedding tana lawn.  I actually bought 1 metre of it especially for this top, which is a bit extravagant, but the colours are so lovely I thought it was worth it.

I also used the Liberty for the bias facing on the neckline.  This sewing pattern could be made in lots of gorgeous ways, pattern fabric on the body with plain cuffs, black and white contrast, floral with stripes - the options are endless.

It's a very simple make and I think I will certainly make it again, although I would probably add a little length.  I'm slightly past the 'showing your midriff' look and, of course, there is also the dress option.  For now though I am concentrating on that lovely 70's style skirt.

The Woodland Stroll Cape.... for Loch Erne

I have had a weekend away booked for ages, but of course left the wardrobe planning to the last minute. It was to be a hotel break for myself and 6 female friends, the main aims to obviously have a lot of laughs, relax in the hot tub, eat and generally be merry. We all dressed up on the Friday evening  - for this I made the +Maria Denmark Day to night top into a dress. I love this pattern as it is quick and easy to make and has a lovely flattering cowl-type neckline.  Incredibly I have no decent photos of it so I will put it on the blog later.

I was tired of my winter 'dressy' coats, so I thought I would make a cape.  The Liesl & Co Woodland Stroll Cape seemed perfect and turned out to be perfect for my weekend.  I used a black cashmere coating fabric which I had purchased last January from Dragonflyfabrics in their sale.  I had thought of making a dress with it, but then thought it was too thick, so it seemed right for this project.

The lining is a multi-coloured polyester blend spotty fabric, which is lovely and bright and I do like it, but in retrospect I wish I had used a flannel fabric for extra warmth, as the coating is surprisingly light.

So, the pattern itself? Well it really couldn't be better.  I cut it out last Saturday and it was sitting ready on Monday afternoon waiting for the closures to arrive in the post.

So, the pattern consists of 1 back piece, 2 front pieces and a simple facing and the same for the lining.  I didn't use any interfacing mainly because I didn't have any and I was in a rush.  Tut, tut. But I thought my fabric was sturdy enough without it.

Probably the only potentially tricky bit might be keeping your lining nice and smooth when you are attaching to main fabric.  It is worth taking your time over this as there is nothing worse than a hanging down lining.   Other than that it is a simple make and I am delighted with the result.

  As I haven't done that many buttonholes yet, I decided to get these closures from Minerva Crafts.  They have a great range of metal, wooden and plastic closures and toggles, which I think work quite well on this cape.  Where the buttons were meant to be on the underarm I used the Prym sport and camping  stud fasteners which work fine too.

Another good think about this cape is that it only uses 1.5 yards of the main fabric so even if you use a wool fabric, it's not going to break the bank.  Black probably wouldn't have been my first choice, it would look great in tweed, tartan or a lovely bright coloured boiled wool. You could even use a water repellent cotton. It looks great with trousers, jeans, dresses and a straight pencil skirt and, of course, very 'in' right now.  Can you tell I like it?  I think there will definitely be more!  Perfect for the weekend away.

Sorry, the photos don't really do it justice between dark days and dark fabric and I look like I've seen a ghost in some of them.

I'll leave you with a wee photo of the marina at the +Manor House Hotel and view from my room.  The colours of the trees were lovely.