It is quite normal for me that I get behind my schedule and planned things remain UFOs for quite some time. And sometimes I am so surprised to finish projects in time, that I forget to blog about them, even though I announced them boastfully.
And today - tadaaa - voilà, my finished "Happy Belated Birthday To Myself" skirt. It's basically so belated, that it was finished one month after my birthday - 3 years ago. Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter and her artwork, are pictured in this fabric. She lived from 1907 to 1954, and her birthday was, what a coincidence, on July 6th - exactly the day when my skirt was finished and worn for the first time out. But as tomorrow is my birthday, this is, once again, a birthday skirt.
For once I didn't want to make a simple pleated skirt, even though it would have been suitable for a folk art inspired fabric. But I didn't want a too bulk skirt, and then I found this pattern in my stash and thought it would look nice. It's a 1949 Simplicity pattern, 3033, it was still in fabric folds (exciting!) and it was quite easy to realise.
On my husband's advice I skipped the pockets. Today I wouldn't ask him, but back then I was still unsure weather it's yes or no to big pockets. Somehow I miss them, as I find myself all too often fiddling with the side seams in search of - obviously non-existing - pockets. Only trouble was - the construction of the waistband respectively the front pleats was somehow wrong. It was not possible at all to make it as described in the instruction sheet. I was wondering if I was too stupid to understand, if my English was not as good as I thought, if I just had misinterpreted something, but then I just realised that there certainly ARE patterns with errors or badly drawed, mismatching pieces. In the end, I just moved the front pleat folds and it worked.
There is also the pattern for the blouse included. I think the version with the huge collar would look nice made from a lightweight, white cotton fabric to be paired with the skirt.
I really love to wear this skirt, the colours are fantastic and great to add various solid tops. On these pictures I'm wearing a self made knit top. The pics are taken by my daughter.
Skirt pattern: Simplicity 3033 from 1949
Skirt fabric: Frida's Garden by Alexander Henry
Peasant top: self drafted, made from a cotton-spandex knit
Shoes: Moheda Toffeln from Sweden
Earrings: Splendette
I love your style !
ReplyDeleteDid you find the Alexander Henry fabric in Germany ? I'm always looking for shops that sell that kind of fabric (and sipping costs are cheaper from Germany than from the UK - I live in Belgium).
Dear Miss Sunalee, thank you so much for your kind comment. No, back then I bought this particular fabric from the USA, in time when shipping was still affordable. Sadly, the rates went up dramatically, and all too often fabrics get too expensive to be reasonable. However, there's a platform called Dawanda, and I recently saw there are some sellers offering US fabric like this one. There are lots of different sellers, just compare the prices and if shipping to Belgium is available. Hopefully this helps.
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