Purple Gingham and Wisteria: Simplicity 1699

Hello Dear Readers,

   Today I have a couple of fun stories for you. The first involves the dress and the other-. . . Well, you will have to wait and see! Behold: 

 I purchased this purple gingham curtain at Goodwill with the intention of making myself a fun, springy dress. When my mum caught sight of said curtain, she greatly admired it, so I determined to sew it up into a dress for her. It isn't like I really NEED another dress anyway. (Tell that to my fabric stash!)

As you can see, this dress is not on my mum. I did not have the most accurate of measurements because I just asked my mum what her bust, waist and hips were. Apparently I decided on the wrong pattern size based off of those measurements. 

So, unfortunately, the dress did not fit my mum. Conveniently, it happened to fit Photographer Sister, and she was pleased to be presented with a new outfit.

We happened to pop into our local library one day when we were out shopping. (Fabric sales at Joann.) Lo! and behold. The pavilion next to the library was covered in the most beautiful purple wisteria. I immediately declared it to be the picture perfect location. The next day, which was Sunday, on the way home from church we stopped by and were able to snap a few pictures. I am happy to say that they turned out exactly like I wanted.

And now for the other story! If you had not noticed Photographer Sister's amazing shoes, allow me to bring your attention to them now. On the same day that we discovered the lovely wisteria, we had previously stopped by Goodwill to look for a basic khaki skirt for my mum. Although we did not find any skirts worth mentioning, we perused to shoes section in the hopes of a bargain. On the second shelf what did I see but a beautiful pair of brown, vintage styled pumps! Much to my disappointment, they were not my size. I was putting them back when my sister exclaimed, "Emily, look!" There in her hands was an identical pair of brown, vintage styled pumps. Imagine my delight when I checked the size and realized that they would fit! The first pair happened to be Photographer Sister's size, and as they were quite appropriately priced (Fifteen dollars for both pairs!) we quickly determined to bring them home with us.

So now Photographer Sister and I have matching shoes! I think you will all agree with me that this was quite a serendipitous outing!

Here are a couple of pictures of my outfit:

Aren't these shoes the cutest?

This wisteria is just gorgeous!

Details for the Avid Seamstress:

Fabric: Curtain from Goodwill

Pattern: Simplicity 1699

Notions: Zipper and lace from the stash

Notes: This dress was actually a very simple make. It has raglan sleeves, which I have never attempted before, and princess seams. I fully lined the dress as the gingham was rather sheer. I used the lapped zipper insertion for the first time without looking up how to do it. I was rather proud that I remembered the technique so well!

I made view A with no major changes. I used the size 10 bodice and the size 16 skirt pieces to make sure that it was not too tight in the hips for my mum, but, since she did not end up wearing it, it turned out to be an unnecessary adjustment. I added four pleats, two in the front and one in each back skirt panel, to take in the extra ease that was a result of the different sizes. Other than that I cannot think of any more comments.

I shall be back soon with my Spring for Cotton make. I have not started it yet, but I have formulated a plan in my head. We will see how it goes! 

Until next time,

~Emily