Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Cherry Meringue skirt with Candy Cane Taffy Blouse

What a yummy description, right?  While I am sure those flavors more than likely wouldn't
go together, the  skirt and blouse- do!  I finished both of these garments right after I got
 the Colette's Sewing Handbook in November, but was a little slow on posting at the end
 of the year.   Anyone who wants to learn sewing or even hone their skills should pick this
 book up!  The 5 patterns included are all gorgeous and the instructions and encouragement
 provided by Sarai Mitnick the author and proprietress of Colette's patterns makes the book
 a steal!  

 Now about the skirt... the material is a bottom weight cotton poplin which was a breeze to sew. 
 I don't want to give away the extra tips that Sarai provided in the book, but I will tell you that I
 used her methods for sewing the invisible zipper and for getting the best finish on scallop bottom
 and they both came out lovely.  The invisible zipper is the best I have installed to-date and this
task which always disappointed me and made my garments look less finished is now a breeze! 

For the Taffy blouse, I made the bias tape for the finish using the continuous bias tape method
 for the first time.  I will definitely be using that again!  I wasn't as even with cutting my strips
as I would like to have been but once ironed and sewn onto the garment - you really wouldn't
know.  Cutting the Chiffon was an absolute nightmare and I was almost afraid the shapes I
was left with at the end would not fit but I managed to make them work, and a few days later
Sunni from a Fashionable Stitch came out with this great tip for cutting these types of garment. 
I am extremely please with the way both of these turned out and hope to make each of them in
different color combinations at a later date!

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