Bestway B2085
This project is still going fine, but overall I’ve gone completely rogue on the upper portion. I’m running low on yarn, so I may not be able to make it a mock turtleneck, or if I do, I’ll have to sub some other similar yarn. I still love it, but I’m looking forward to being done with it. I will probably make another and then decide if I want to reclaim this yarn, but for now we’re marching forward.
Peter Pan Bolero & Skirt Pocket Add
I made this bolero last weekend, and I’m absolutely smitten with how cute it is and quickly it stitched up. It stitched up so fast, in fact, that I didn’t even get any progress pictures.
It seems like I’m working solely on Valentine’s Day outfits right now because everything is red, woolen, and romantic. I paired the Bolero with this skirt that I wear frequently but also scorn internally because it arrived to me pocketless.
I downloaded this pocket pattern from Threads Magazine. I cut the pockets out of some Bolero scrap, and opened up the right side seam on the skirt (because I am adding only one pocket). I didn’t have enough scrap to make whole pocketbags, so I had to piece some together, but it is fine because this is how I do nearly everything anyway.
I pinned the pockets to the outside of the skirt, then stitched them in; then, I turned them to the inside so it made a very clean new line where the pocket now lives. The cool thing about the pocket pattern I downloaded is that it has a little lip on the top so you can whip stitch that to the waistband and it keeps the pocket from sagging. This is definitely an upgrade.
So there it is! I’m really excited about this because I have a few skirts that I truly love and because I don’t wear a purse, for those skirts I’ve had to come up with a workaround. I’m going to add pockets to every skirt I love and get rid of the rest.
(Also, I’m about to scorn myself for not adding pockets into the next project… I will likely retrofit them later when the weather is appropriate enough to wear it.
Anne Adams 4720
This was a ridiculously fun make and I can’t wait to make another and another.
I stitched it straight, no adjustments aside from letting out the seam allowance a little in the skirt because I prefer a wider flare. I used some medium-weight interfacing in the yoke and collar, and I think next time I’ll opt for lightweight. I don’t have a photo of the back, but I followed the pattern directions to insert the zipper and finally (finally!) have a good method for reliably inserting a zipper. I even used the same method for the wool skirt (next) that I started this afternoon.
When I first saw this pattern, I thought it was maybe from the 40s, and there is no indication on the pattern itself of a date, but the mail-order envelope in which it came to me (by way of another friend) is dated 1976. I can actually see that, but I’m not certain that this pattern belonged in that envelope originally. I’ll go with it because it does look mid-70s appropriate. It also looks like a simple housedress from decades earlier. It could quite possibly be both.
Simplicity 3196 in Cranberry Wool with Matching Beret
I have had this wool stashed for so long that I’m just glad to be using it up! Simplicity 3196 version 3 is one of my most absolute favorite skirts; I’ve made several. I was able to get all the wool cut, darts in and the back half assembled (but not pressed) this afternoon. Next weekend I’ll work on the welted pockets, but I’m too tired to even think about it tonight.
I always make version 3 because (as noted earlier) I absolutely adore a flared skirt. It flatters my figure and offers me room for layers underneath. Although, as I look again at the pattern drawings, I am definitely eyeballing version 2 because of those particular pockets.
Unfortunately, I have either misplaced or lost the pattern instructions somewhere and I’ll need to find them or a similar pocket construction to wrap my head around how those pockets work. All for a future project because currently I am midway through this romantic woolen affair.
Anyway, on to the matching Beret because – oh my god I’m that woman now.
So as a Christmas present to myself, I joined Gertie’s Patreon because I have wanted forever to make the Bolero (and the Barbie top, which I did already and have worn twice this weekend already and didn’t photograph any of it). And then she did this whole Beat Generation video and I got all drooly with the streamlined, grown-up looks she’s making and selling. I just had to do it.
Anyway, I’m at the middle tier where we get some guest patterns and fitting classes (which I’m really looking forward to the classes because I’m fair, but not expert, at fitting and I truly want to improve); this month’s guest pattern is this really beautiful Charlotte Beret by Charlotte. I’m waiting on some Petersham that I had to order because I spent half a day looking for it locally, but nobody even knew what I was talking about. When it arrives, though, I have the Beret completely cut and ready to go in this cranberry wool to match the skirt and will actually coordinate with the Bolero, if you can even.
Some extra good news is that I have many several yards of different wools available to make more matching skirts w/berets. I will not buy any more fabric until I get through this entire stash (unless it’s truly amazing).
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