I sewed a special outfit for a fantasy event, that consist of a dress with a long skirt and bolero jacket that can be worn all together when it is colder outside, or partly left off in hotter weather.
I still had 5 meters of red (fuchsia?) linen lying in the cupboard, initially bought to serve as lining for my 17th-century kirtle. But then I decided the skirt didn’t need to be lined after all, and when lining the bodice, I simply forgot that I had bought this fabric for that purpose (and used standard white linen instead). So I thought I might as well use it for this project.
Although the color of the linen is lovely in itself, I ordered a few ready-made iron-on patches to make the outfit more fancy. I cut them up and re-arranged the pieces on the outfit in a way that complimented the shape of the garment.
I only had a week and a half to finish everything before the event would start, during which I not only had to sew everything together but also had to come up with and draw the entire pattern myself – which needed to fit very well, because linen hardly stretches, and I wanted to be able to dance in it. And it would not be just one but three garments: a skirt, a dress, and a bolero (technically, two boleros, because I lined it for extra warmth).
But I made it in time, and I am very happy that everything fits so well! I only had to take in the dress a bit at the seams on the back. I hadn’t expected the bolero to fit perfectly on the first try, because although I had made a few test dresses out of fitting cotton for myself during my dressmaker study, those didn’t need to have sleeves. This is the first time I have drawn sleeves for myself. I actually have room to move in the thing! It fits better than the average blouse from the store!
The outfit might even have turned out a little too fancy and not ‘fantasy’ enough… I think I could also wear this to a wedding!
Time spent: 27,5 hours
Costs: €76 (€42 for the fabric, €34 for the zipper, bias tape, and appliqués)