I am sorry if the last post came to you too late to enjoy the 30% off everything at Boden this weekend. Unfortunately Johnnie and co. didn't feel enough sympathy to extend it into today, but they did start off another round of 30% off items, this time on dresses, shoes/sandals, and accessories. I am not officially going to be announcing this in its own post, so no picks or anything, but I do recommend that if you really want to grab something from them that is at 30% off to head over to the last few BWRRs that I have published since there are quite a few reviews from those three categories.
Okay, onto the made by me/ootd action! I will do the ootd portion first followed by a quick look at the sewing details after.
Where: To go get drunk. LOL. No, we had "won" two school auction tickets (for twenty people total) to go to a BBQ/Mixed Drinks party at one of the school's parents' house.
Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Bad Boden shirt. I actually felt that everything was super comfortable from waist down, but this Boden shirt, while it looks great with the outfit, is just a wrong fit for me. It is very narrow in the hips, so I can't wear it loose, but tucking it in can be a challenge. Meh. Bummer is that I only own one top in this color. I may just have to alter the hem (probably up a couple of inches so it falls higher on the hips where I am narrower) to get this to fit better.
Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) This is a rock solid look. The lines are clean and classic, and the floral looks fresh but not too stuffy. I fit the skirt to my exact measurements so the pencil skirt could be fitted but not too fitted.
Anecdote from the Day: So the house where we were set to go to for the party is literally five houses from us...but not down the sidewalk. No, the house is behind ours and four down, but since we live on the edge of the forest, we had to trek through the forest and into our back neighbor's sideyard to get to their home. Note the wedges I was wearing. Well Little Miss Confidence was fine on the way there but the way back, well, let's just say...limoncello...whiskey...big branch...cut on leg. Ah, yeah. So graceful. :-) At least the skirt is okay.
To add to the weirdness, as soon as we step out of our neighbor's sideyard, I hear my "teacher name" and was greeted by one of Rex's friends from his class, out for a walk with her mom and dad, sister, and twin brothers. And they don't even live on the street, they are about a mile down, they just were walking to enjoy the glorious evening.
This etsy seller has some available, btw. Not at $3 a yard, but still less than G Street or even Gorgeous Fabrics had theirs at...
So this skirt is made from the Vogue 8916 pattern, which is a wardrobe pattern and includes a top, jacket, skirt, and simple sleeveless dress. I liked how long the skirt looked, and thought the silhouette was classic (neat tidy waistband added to the skirt and not folded over like some pencil skirt patterns have). It also included instructions for lining the skirt, which I wanted to do so I could wear it in the winter with tights.
I was tremendously worried that the skirt in the largest size on the package would be too small (this is the smaller set of sizes--up to a 14), but I figured I would at least do some flat measurements. Well, even after doing the flat measurements I was worried, but figured I could take the seams out a bit to 3/8" if need be. Then I had the idea to measure this pattern against a stretchy pencil skirt of mine from J. Crew, and get this...the pattern was more than big enough in a 14, in fact a little bigger than the J. Crew skirt, so I knew I would be okay.
Putting this skirt together took me AGES. I labored on it for a month. Now admittedly I was working on other things, including the dress below, but really, people...a MONTH for a pencil skirt. I may win the slowest sewer on the planet award. The pattern itself was not confusing, the instructions were fine, and the fabric wasn't especially tricky (other than getting bunched up on the sewing machine since the machine's foot tension was too loose and gathered this super thin fabric easily). I just took a lot of time getting it done.
I think taking my time made the skirt look nicely finished though and when I grab a few moments, I will photograph the inside of the skirt since I properly finished all the seams and the hem. It isn't 100% ready to wear, but it is the closest I have come since my Vogue Paris Original dress from last fall.
I would like to make the top from this pattern, but in a different fabric. The fabric above I will likely use with this New Look pattern since it is a darling peplum and hey, the fabric is exactly the same. So original.
Where: CW's Kindergarten Graduation. Then to the city to celebrate with her at Pret-A-Manger and the Natural History Museum.
Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Although this dress was made for me by me, because I didn't take out extra length in the bodice portion, the overall shape was a bit too blousey for my frame, especially since the extra volume was extra extra in the skirt.
I will say that running around the city with the breeze in place was very nice...the skirt kind of swirled around me and was very refreshing. I just wonder how much more awesome it would have felt if the top portion fit a bit better.
Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Very nice summer dress and cute sandals. My baby was the star, though, and her outfit was the winner that day. (She received a lot of "OH, SO CUTE!" comments.) I did make that dress, btw, and you can see more on that one here.
Anecdote from the Day: The IRS building was being evacuated when we were walking by. The nice security fella walked with us to the end of the block (instead of making us cross the street with the employees) and he and CW got into a conversation about the stuffed owl she had just bought at the museum store. We asked him his name and he said Laurence, and we said we would name the owl Laurence. But then CW thought about it and looked at him and said, "no wait, this is a girl owl, so I am going to name her Laura." ;-)
I am not going to go into the ins and outs of this sewing project, but I did publish a lot of information on it here at this review at Pattern Review.
Okay, that's it for now. :-)
If you would like 30% off dresses, shoes/sandals, and accessories, this sale will go until next Sunday night. For anything else that is on your list that is not one of the above categories, you can use the coupon below or in the sidebar for 25% off.
