Saturday, May 10, 2014

Roses for My Rosa

Spring may be almost over in Florida (I know, some of you in cooler climes are still waiting for its arrival), but I'm holding on as long as I can. What says Spring more than flowers? But since I'm hopeless at growing flowers, I can at least sew with them.



This may be one of my favorite projects for Rosa to date (I know I keep saying that...). The floral fabric is a lightweight almost-lawn print that I salvaged from a thrifted shirt. I loved the print, but the shirt didn't fit right (weird bias + ruching stuff going on in the front). Now I'm glad it didn't! The floral reminds me strongly of a Liberty print, which is a little too pricey for me to indulge in on a regular basis (though I did recently buy a little bit of this, which I'll make into another tunic if I can get up the courage to cut into it!).

I cut the sleeves straight out of the existing shirt sleeves -- I couldn't bear to scrap the adorable shirred detail, so I incorporated it.


To salvage the sleeves, I cut them off the shirt and pinned them to my ironing
board (to stretch them out fully). Then I just cut my pattern piece out and sewed
up the sleeve seam.

And for once, I drafted the entire pattern from scratch. Well, essentially -- I used a pattern piece I'd previously drafted for a sundress (which I need to post about soon!) to get some idea for the right bodice measurements. But since I drafted that pattern, too, I figure it counts. I was strongly inspired by Alicia's tunic in this post, but I was too cheap to buy the Citronelle pattern she used. Though at some point I will just break down and buy one (or two... or three) of their patterns; they are too charming! 




Obviously I went for a back closure, inspired by these adorable tops. I really like how the back overlaps enough to be "modest" (not that it's a huge concern for my 18 month old), but eliminates the fussiness of a placket. Plus, it's easier to line and assemble. I used muslin for the "skirt," which I had leftover from a recent curtain project. The entire tunic is lined (with the exception of the sleeves), and it really has just the right weight to it.




Not only does this tunicd fit her perfectly now, I have a feeling she'll get a lot of wear out of it. 

Notice the button tab in the back? It's my favorite bit, and it was really an afterthought -- a bit of a shame, because I could have sewn it into the lining if I'd thought of it earlier! But it's hand-stitched to the lining instead, and it just makes me happy to look at it. 




I feel like I've been sewing up a storm this Spring. Maybe it's my form of therapy? Maybe it's just having a small person who's a blast to sew for. I think knitting is about to give sewing a run for its money, though. I left a knitting project at a friend's house recently, and I was antsy the entire evening. No joke. Hopefully the novelty will wear off soon, and I can pursue it like a normal human! Though my 32" circular needles just came in the mail, so now I have even more reason (and fewer hindrances) to knit. C'est la vie, right?

9 comments:

  1. Shannon,

    The style and fabric are just beautiful! I think the back button tab is adorable, such a clever idea. It can be hard to find small prints and the shirt fabric you re-purposed is lovely; wish I could find fabric like that at the stores. : )

    Have a great weekend!

    -Sarah

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    1. Sarah,

      Thank you! And yes, small prints can be quite a challenge to find off the bolt -- if I do find one, there's usually *something* that's not quite right (colors, design, etc.). And then they cost an arm and a leg! $1 is much nicer, thank-you-very-much. :-)

      I hope you have a great weekend, too!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  2. I really enjoy this. So lovely and your commitment to little Rosa in this way is a joy. Brings delight to my heart and truly inspires me to do more for my little bluebird!

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    1. Thank you for that! Such encouragement is so helpful to me -- I've pondered blogging so many times; it's a strange thing to put so much of oneself in the "public domain," so to speak. But comments like yours that keep me going!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  3. Hmmm....pursuing knitting like a normal human.....you see, the thing is that "normal human" KNITTERS just get antsy when they don't have their knitting project in hand....

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    1. Oh dear! So I apparently I've done myself in? You know, maybe knitting needles and yarn should come with warning labels! :-) Actually, I'm very glad to finally have a hobby that I can do when my hands would normally be idle. Handsewing is good, but there's only so much of it to do (or that I want to do!).

      I guess the good news is that I'm a normal human, after all... whatever that means :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  4. Another lovely top for your little girl! I don't know how you find the time with two little ones! I think this is my favorite too!

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    1. Thank you, Diane! You are always so sweet. :-) I'm grateful I find the time (though I sometimes wonder how, too, and it crosses my mind that maybe I'm not doing something I'm supposed to be doing...), because this little creative outlet helps me stay sane!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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