I've been wanting to move my blog away from Blogspot for a while but could never be bothered to actually do it. This week was the tipping point though, and I've now fully migrated over to https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . The blogspot address will remain here but all new posts will only appear at https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . There are lots of reasons for the move but my biggest one is how hard Blogger has made it for people to subscribe to receive new posts via email. It's such a basic requirement but apparently, they think it's too much to offer. I'm basing this purely on how I myself prefer to consume this stuff. I can't be arsed with feed readers anymore and emails are easy and convenient. When I receive one, if I fancy reading it, I will click through to it and, if not, I'll just delete it. Another reason is the spat between Google (owners of Blogger) and Instagram/Facebook/Meta. I don't even know if this is still the case anymore ...
Hello again! Today I have a full outfit to share and - spoiler alert! - I BLOODY LOVE IT!
I'm turning 40 next week 😱 and I'm going out for afternoon tea with my best girls to celebrate. Nothing too fancy but I wanted to give myself a birthday present for it. Enter the Pussy Bow Blouse from Sew Over It. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the nicest, poshest, most delicate thing I have in my wardrobe.
I've had this pattern for years and I have no good reason for never having made it before. I think it's because I was a little apprehensive about sewing with fine, shifty, slippery fabrics. I'm so glad I've finally done it. There are no darts and no fastenings so it comes together really quickly. I made a 1.5cm forward shoulder adjustment because I always need that with Sew Over It Patterns. Other than that, it's a straight size 10. I made the keyhole version (2) and I love how it looks. But I want to try the v-neck next time.
Cutting it was fine - thank you for stepping up, rotary cutter! - but sewing it was a little on the tricky side. It was like sewing butterfly wings or something. So delicate! But the end result is EXACTLY as I'd envisioned and then some. I am completely in love with this blouse.
The sleeves are finished with a button and loop closure on the cuffs. I couldn't find any buttons that were fancy enough for this blouse so I covered my own. I picked a cream petal bit and they turned out perfectly! So delicate and very much in keeping with the blouse and fabric.
The skirt is the Deer and Doe Azara. This one had been languishing in my sewing room, half finished, for a very long time. I bought the pattern as soon as it launched, at the end of 2017, and started it straight away. Then I took a break from sewing and, by the time I got back into it, the weather was nowhere near cold enough to wear this. At the end of last year I picked it up again with the intention of finishing it.
It's a gorgeous skirt! Such beautiful lines and details. I chose the no-buttons version and I opted for a lining. I made a size 40 with no alterations. This fabric isn't the best to show the construction details but the skirt is made out of odd shaped pieces rather than traditional shaping techniques. It's very clever and a lot of fun to sew up. Plus, it's a very flattering shape on me. Winner!
The fabric is a wool I bought from Fabworks but they had limited stock of it at the time and this was ages ago. It's such a rich colour. It's not in fact a plain brown weave, there are lots of different colours woven together with the brown, like green, orange and yellow. I've never seen anything like it but it's beautiful. I also bought the purple version of this, which I've still not used. So we have that to look forward to.
Instead of fastening the waistband with a button I decided on a hook and bar instead. I thought the button would be too obtrusive. Also, I did make a mess of the button tab and I wanted to keep it hidden. It was badly misshapen and I don't know how that happened. But maybe a blessing in disguise because I like having just the invisible zip on show.
I am very pleased with this combo and I can't wait to wear them next weekend. Very few things in life can beat the satisfaction of bringing to life an outfit that I dreamed up in my head.
Thanks for reading and have a good week!