Yellow

Lately I've been feeling as though...well...not so much "I have nothing to wear"...more like...there's nothing fun in here, nothing fresh, nothing that is stylish and practical and doesn't required a strapless bra / really high heels.  So I have bought myself a few pieces of fabric, with intent to inject a little bit of something into my wardrobe.

Starting with a  yellow skirt.

The fabric is a cotton matelasse by Milly, sourced from EmmaOneSock.  When it arrived, it was not the exact shade of yellow I was looking for, but the quality was so stunning that I thought I had better make a good job of it so it would last forever.  I knew I wanted a pencil shape, but I was not sure whether to keep it plain or add some fun details.  I remembered a Threads article on lining a vented skirt (by Annalia Tay, Aug / Sep 2010).  I pulled it out and read it over and over.   I decided to give it a try, but because the techniques were new to me, I kept the skirt plain.

My skirt pattern is self drafted.  I followed the directions for drafting a lining and then constructing the skirt.  I did have trouble at times, not knowing if right and left were the right and left sides of the garment or right and left sides of the diagram, but I got there in the end.

For the record, I even tried the "sew a one-thread dart" for 2 of the darts.  And then I could not see the benefit of a one thread dart in this fabric so gave it away for the remaining 6 darts.  This method has you pull out extra bobbin thread, thread it backwards through the needle and up through the sewing machine.  It leaves you with no threads to tie off, which might be useful in a sheer fabric, but really did not seem worth the bother of threading a needle backwards.

Here are some close-ups.

This photo shows the vent at the back of the skirt, opened out so you can see the lining.  The lining is a Bemberg rayon lining.  It is the first time that I have used this and I can see why people like it better than the standard acetate lining.  The lining is attached on both sides of the vent and there is a jump pleat where it is attached all around the hem.  I made the skirt with wide seam allowances (you know, so it will last forever), but the only way that I am going to get at the seam allowances to let them out is by taking off the waistband.

The skirt closes with an invisible zipper.  Lucky it is invisible because it doesn't match.  The rayon binding tape that I used doesn't match either.  What can I say?  I can't buy these sorts of notions locally so I often have to make do.  I have put a long extension on the waistband for the day that I take the waistband off and let out the side seams.

So here is how I have got it to work in my wardrobe so far.

With black and white stripy tee.  Probably how I will mostly wear it. (Note:  having a bright yellow object in your photos makes them difficult to adjust afterwards.  There must be a skill to photographing bright objects.)

With Missoni top. (I have worn this top a lot over the summer.  The V neck is my favourite way)

With some more yellow.  A good combination for school sports days.  It looks like this shirt has shrunk a little.  Or maybe quite the opposite.  Maybe I have not shrunk.  Shame I didn't make it with wide seam allowances.

With a little bit of animal print.  I bought this silk blouse in an op shop, but the only thing that it has ever matched is the jeans I was wearing in the op shop at the time.  It has a "made in Romania" tag on it, which I have never seen before, so I am guessing that somebody brought this shirt to Australia with them.

Other colours that people seem to pair with yellow are white, black and aqua.  I did try a couple of black tops, but they really made the skirt look like a solid yellow block.  My white tops weren't flattering, and when I tried a dark greenish blouse I was told that it was a good look for Australia Day.  I guess the Olympics are coming up soon, and I'll need a green and gold outfit to wear in front of the telly.