I sewed up a storm for my Christmas presents last year and, now it's February, I am starting to recover enough to blog about it!
My sister requested a tennis outfit and emailed me very specific, illustrated instructions. Anyone who has read this blog for a while may know that my sister is not only super particular, but is also a lifetime member of the brutally honest brigade. I was feeling the pressure as I planned and sewed this outfit to her exact specifications!
The skirt was to be slightly A-line with a pleated lower back section under a second frill. It had to also have built-in shorts.
I chose stable lycra/ponte fabrics for the outer skirt in polka dots and plain black.
I used the swim skirt of Jalie 3023 as a starting point. I made a few changes to the pattern, which began with raising the waistline and adding some length. Then I cut the back pattern piece into two horizontally and created the lower frill by slashing and spreading the lower back pattern piece. The middle frill was made from a strip of black fabric cut on a curve so it only flared slightly.
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| Jalie 3023 |
The box pleats are underneath the black frill.
The plain front piece was sewn to the back at the sides. Then, before I attached the waistband, I made some little, black, cotton lycra shorts using Megan Nielsen's Virginia leggings pattern (the best-fitting leggings pattern ever). The shorts and skirt were sewn together into a doubled-over waistband and hemmed with a cover stitch.
The black and white top was requested to provide some sun protection. I used the Megan Nielsen Briar T-shirt pattern and added long sleeves. The length was altered to somewhere between the t-shirt and crop top lengths. I used a lightweight, cotton knit fabric for the top and added a black neckline and decorative black topstitching on the hem and cuffs.
I was very nervous as my sister opened her present on Christmas Day, but she liked it! Then, the other day, she sent the pictures of herself in the outfit that you see here.
I was blown away. She looks amazing! OK, her legs look amazing, but the tennis outfit shows them off to perfection, doesn't it?
I was thrilled.
And I bet no one else could concentrate on their game!
10 comments:
You had me at box pleats. Wow.
(They are amazing legs. Tell me she's younger than us!)
So adorable, what a good sis you are! and I like this outfit soooo much more than things I see on the telly tennis matches!
Oh yes, way younger. A whole two years in fact!
Thank you. I had lots of fun making this, despite my complaining!
Champion!
So glad your sister was happy with your gift. You certainly put a lot of time and love into it and the whole outfit looks fantastic.
Wow, great job following her brief for you. This outfit looks great, however did she come up with the idea?
Ha ha. Hooray!
I think she did lots of research on Pinterest!
The non-volley line is the line on each side of the net between the sidelines and parallel to the net. These lines are located 7 feet from the net Enjoy The Enjoyment
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