Kimono-ver to My Place!

I’ve had this pattern for ages, and first made it up from a light lime green second-hand kimono for the missus.  She liked it, never wore it, and has now outgrown it.  Hey ho.

It’s a lovely pattern, one of the now defunct [I think] ‘Vogue Woman’ range, V8434, which had slightly more mature proportions, lower bust point etc.

So I dragged it out, matched it up with ANOTHER second hand sari from good old eBay and then decided to do the job properly for once, and prewash.  Get me!

AND I decided to go all out and do an FBA.  Of course, it wasn’t that simple-I had originally bought the smaller size range of the pattern, which maxed out at 14.  I need a 16 plus FBA so I also had to grade up.  Trace?  Not this fairy!  I just eyeballed it.  Ooooh what a rebel!

Anyway, it’s  a lovely pattern, it even TELLS you to do French seams and tiny hems, and nothing goes amiss.  I managed to cut it out with the gold border making up most of the hems and sleeve borders, which pleases me immensely.  The neckline is nicely shaped, and sits neatly between the boobs, so I added a tiny snap fastener to prevent inadvertent gap-osis.

tiny French seams

The facings are a bit of a pain.  You’re not told to interface, but I used some silk organza to help stabilise those long bias edges.  Despite understitching, it still wanted to roll out, but a few judicious handstitches soon fixed that.

I love the sleeve shaping, it’s very dramatic, but simple to sew, and that front drape is yummy.

Just as I was getting ready to have some pics taken this morning, I added the little snap at the front, and then toyed with the idea of putting a pleat at the elbow to slightly shorten the very long sleeves.  Having sewn one in place, I realised there was a mark on the sleeve.  There are actually quite a lot of odd grey marks on the sari fabric, fortunately all on the wrong side, and they won’t come off.

I had sewn the bloody sleeve on inside out!  And with such teeny tiny beautiful french seams too!

So I had to unpick the teeny tiny French seam, press it out, re-pin, re-stitch…and just before pressing to sew the 2nd pass, I realised I’d sewn it with the sleeve the right way out, but the seam the wrong side out.

Unpicked and pressed again, and this time got it right.  Don’t you find fabrics that look the same both sides bloody annoying?

Anyway, all done, no time to play with sleeve length as the missus was itching to go out to play, so I quickly togged up.  A few pics with trousers, then a few with a slip and heels  to see if it does work as a dress…almost I think, but maybe a black pencil skirt underneath.  Hmmm.  The wife growled at the legs but said it makes me look like Sherry from Frasier.  Ahem.

Not so bad lol!

Monkey arms don’t fit in frame lol

posing with the wife’s cello!

Ready for my close-up Mr DeMille

What do you think?  Too cool for school?  Not sure if it will be part of the SWAP, but you never know.