Outfit Post - Red Gingham Circle Skirt

So you've already seen that it's finally finished. The picnic blanket skirt! After silly issues with my sewing machine! 

So here is an outfit I hope to wear out to the jazz club next time I go! 

Excuse the hair there was some laziness going on. The sunglasses are because I'm on holiday! In Scotland. So actually needing them is rare!

I think the hem on this skirt is probably the scruffiest I've done so far. I'm blame the much thinner poly cotton I've used! 

And for your amusement, here's one of me sitting on a bench, but all it's succeeded in doing is making my legs look ridiculously short! 

And one where I was spinning round! Just for fun! 

Outfit:

Sunglasses - TKMaxx they say VP on them with a Playboy bunny in the middle. I have no idea. I think they're cute! 

Top - Debenhams, years ago!

Skirt - made by me!

Petticoat - the ever fabulous Vivien of Holloway

Shoes - they're by Marta Johnson and were a gift last Christmas! 

I can see this skirt with a crisp white shirt too! Perfect for a summers day!

Jo :-)

P.S. have you needed your sunglasses lately? Made anything summer inspired? 

Red Gingham Circle Skirt

A quick me made post today. Look

What I finished this week! (Those of you who follow me on twinstagram will have ready seen this and I'm sorry to bore you!) 

But look!!

Isn't she pretty? I've wanted a red gingham circle skirt for ages now. But thick cotton gingham seems to be fairly expensive. So I've bitten the bullet and gone for polycotton instead. It'll mostly be worn over a petticoat anyway! 

Things started off rough as I was determined to sew it in a day for the Jazz Club summer party to go as a picnic blanket! (It was that or a bathing suit. Go figure!) 

Could I get this dear sewing machine to work. Nope. Nothing. Just backward needle thread stitching. Turns out I had the needle threaded the wrong way. Doh. 

Instruction booklets are a god send!! 

Just look at the cute buttons on the waistband! Strawberries! 

To go with the picnic theme you see. Incredibly organised for me really considering I completely forgot a button for the last skirt! 

Ah well. Still learning! I'm thinking something music themed next! 

Wish me luck on the hunt for bargain fabric!

Jo :-)

P.S. where do you find your bargains? Sewn anything lately? 

Cherries and Stripes

Just made a typo in the title which would have led to this being called Sherries and Stripes, which may have been more interesting and definitely more drunken..... hmmm.

This is the first circle skirt I made!

Casually leaning on the bicycle....

The fabric and pattern (not totally full circle, but nearly) were presents from my Godmother last Christmas and it took the lure of Jazz to get me round to making it! I was so pleased with it. I think I spent a good ten minutes just marvelling at the fact that I put a zip in and it WORKED!!

I wore this to Jazz with a black top and a butterfly clasp belt, but I quite like it with these stripes just for fun!

I like how the stripes are horizontal at the back of the top and vertical at the front where it drapes. It's such a comfy top, I always feel very summery wearing it! Either that or just like a deck chair....

Loads of fabric!

It uses up so much fabric to make this skirt, I was a little bit shocked by how expensive it was to make when I did the Strawberry Fields one. I've got my eye on some beautiful fabric on eBay that's black with gold jazz instruments and musical notes on it. It's gorgeous and would be great for Jazz (obviously!) but it's £12.99 a metre plus postage. I need three metres and twenty centimetres.... So it'll be a save up and see job I think!

Jo :-)

Finished Spring Circle Skirt

And here, for your perusal, is the finished article!

Photo by the miracles of self timers! Not included, plenty of shots of me walking back towards the camera looking confused!

Complete with (mostly) level hem. Waistband and button that actually works!



Perfect for twirling!


Complete with smug face!

Smug face not included with pattern purchase.

 As you can see it's perfect for dancing and I'm intending to wear it to Jazz tonight. I'm having so much fun at The Colchester Jazz Club. It's the best way to spend a Sunday evening!

I might have to go on my own this week. Always daunting. Wish me luck :-)

Outfit consists of:
Completely scruffy hair and no make-up, I might update instagram with the finished look before I go out!
Top: Papaya via Charity Shop in Tiptree (Bragainous £2.50!)
Skirt: Made by me using a Project Runway pattern.
Petticoat: Vivien of Holloway
Shoes: Chairty Shop Bargain (see the trend here....)

Jo :-)

Spring Circle Skirt

This isn't vintage as such, but it is a very vintage look! Especially teamed with my wonderful petticoat from Vivien of Holloway. Oh how I love that shop!

This is my second (ever!) handmade garment. The first was a cherry print skirt that I Love so, so much. I've had the fabric since Christmas but starting going to Colchester Jazz club on a Sunday evening really spurred me into making something with it.

It's a lovely simple little pattern, although I've changed the length to work with the petticoat and I seem to keep changing the waistband fastenings about! It's brilliantly full, but not quite full circle which allows a tiny bit of (mostly in my head I think) modesty when spinning about on the dance floor being twirled by some wonderfully chivalrous gents!

I just thought I'd share a few photos of it's construction and all along the way!

Cutting my pattern pieces is always scary! I hate cutting into my beautiful long swathe of fabric and constantly worry I'm going to do it wrong. Any long time sewists out there? Does this ever go away?!

Then I stitch my side seams together. You'll have to excuse the horrifically modern, absolutely tiny but awesome sewing machine I'm using. It was a Christmas present to ease me into sewing. Hopefully one or other of my old singer's will be up and running soon!

Then I insert my zip which wasn't as fiddly as I thought. Cue lots of doing and undoing as I marvel at the fact I put something together that works. This means excitement!!

Then there's some interfacing and faffing about with the waistband, hopefully long enough this time to incorporate a sensible button. There's a picture of the cherry print skirt I'm not showing you!

And that's all folks. I'd like to say it's completely finished and I got to wear it to Jazz on Sunday night, but unfortunately being a total plonker I forgot to buy the appropriate thread for the sewing machine and spent most of my sewing re threading the thing as it broke time after time after time...... I finally ran out of time and had to improvise with a whole different outfit!

There's about a third of the hem left to do, and now my vintage electric singer is installed in the corner of the living room (not it's permanent place, when the study/office/sewing room/hideaway is decorated she will live in there) hopefully it'll take all of, oh five seconds to finish.

Seriously. Half horse power motor on the thing. It's somewhat scary!!

Once it's finished I'll be sure to put a picture up!

Jo :-)