saving a little bit of sunshine

So, once upon a time I picked up a lovely remnant of fine-grade sunshine-yellow linen from a sale at Potters Textile … and then at some point decided I wanted to make a yellow skirt. I plucked this, my only piece of yellow fabric, from Le Stash; and selected Burda 2/2015;109, which I’ve been admiring and coveting for some time. I traced it out, noted very happily that the pieces fitted perfectly on my piece of yellow linen with practically nothing to spare whatsoever, cut it out and made it up without much further thought.

And lo, it was horrible. I can’t even begin to describe just how frumptastic it looked. I didn’t even take a picture of myself wearing it, it was that bad, though I did have the presence of mind to force it upon poor Jane to model before taking the scissors to it again.

It actually looks quite nice on Jane here, but trust me, it didn’t look nearly so nice on ME.

I don’t blame the pattern, which I still think will be quite nice with the right fabric, of a stiffness and body that can hold its own with a pleat. In a lightweight linen? NUP.

Anyway, obviously I cannot bear to waste a lovely piece of fabric, and particularly one of such a sunny disposition. And this time I listened to what it was whispering to me in its tiny, squeaky, linen-y little voice (yes, Virginia, fabrics DO have a voice) and realised that this delightfully lightweight loveliness wanted to be a delightfully lightweight, breezy little TOP. Of course I granted its wish. Who am I to deny a fabric its destiny?

Fortunately it wasn’t too difficult… the skirt had long long ties to go around the waist, and it was easy to open out the waistband and let out each of the pleats just a little, to allow what was previously the waistband to be an underarm band instead, and re-jig the old side seams. I harvested what was remaining of the waist ties to be shoulder straps for my new top, unpicked the two big pockets, and re-cut one to be a triangular insert to go in the previous skirt opening to fill in that gap, and re-cut the other to be a big kangaroo pocket to go on the front of the new top. By the way, the old side seams are now at the centre front and back of the top, and the previous centre front and centre back, which is where the big skirt pleats were before, are now situated at the underarm seams. Finally I stitched a buttonhole and a button from my stash to the newly extended underarm band so it can close, since the ties are gone.

Et voila! a bright and sunshine-y little top. I love it in this guise so much! it’s hard to remember how sad and tragic it was as a skirt. I took it to Bali, when we went there for L and L’s wedding – ah such a wonderful time we had! I’ll have to write something about that here soon

note; Craig does not take pictures of me as a rule! but I basically forced him to each day we were away. I’m like, but it’s me-made May!! Reaffirming long held suspicions that the depths of the feminine nature will forever remain a mystery best left unsolved #instagramhusband

Now we’re back home and winter is creeping slowly into Perth and I’m reluctantly putting it away with the other little summer lovelies… but am happy to think it’ll be waiting in the wings, an cheerful little thing for when summer rolls around again.