Black Linen Jumpsuit

Hello all! Sorry for my absence on the blog of late. I do have things to show you, it's just a matter of getting pictures! Please bear with me.mThis months Minerva Make is a linen jumpsuit. In my last term at uni I made a costume for a show that was put on in central London. Whilst the show was on, I was one of the dressers for the production. This mainly involved helping the actors get ready and helping with any costume changes that needed to be done during the show. The dress code for dressers is full blacks, and the week of the show it was boiling hot in London so I needed something to wear that covered most of my skin whilst still keeping me as cool as possible. My answer to this was a linen jumpsuit which I could easily whack a long sleeve t-shirt over the top of if I needed to. You can read all about the making process over at the Minerva blog here.

 Thanks very much for reading, to Minerva Crafts for all the supplies for this project and to Beth for taking the photos,
Lauren xx

Stripey jumpsuit and cropped blouse

Hello all! This months Minerva Make is a double whammy. A stripy jumpsuit and a white off the shoulder cropped blouse. The original plan was trousers and a white buttondown shirt, but my brain had other plans. You can read the whole story over here.
Thanks very much for reading, to Minerva Crafts for the supplies for this project and to Abby for taking the pictures!
Lauren xx

Stripey Eurovision Top

Hello all! This top was born purely because of Eurovision. For the party I was going to we were required to dress as a country and as I already had the perfect outfit for France I thought that it was a no brainer. However, the stripey top I had planned to wear was in the washing basket, with no hope of being washed or dried in time. Luckily I had some spare fabric left over, and just enough time to whip up a new top. This one is decidedly more summery than the last, and I'm in love.
I used the Noelle bra pattern as a vague vague guide for neckline and armholes, and then I just extended the armhole to a point so I basically ended up with a trapezium. I finished the front neckline first and then bound the side edges from the bottom up so that they could extend into straps. The hem is also bound and the ends extends into straps to tie at the back.
I ended up just making some pleats at the front just to get the fit a bit tighter at the waist. Sometimes when worn, there is a bit of gaping at the sides and I wonder how best it would be to fix it. Darts at the side of the bust would ruin the stripes.
It was planned as a halterneck but after a while I decided that life was too short for that amount of weight on the back of my neck so my good friend Amy tied those straps to the waist straps for me.
It makes for the perfect summer top. Elegant, cool to wear, but covers what needs to be covered.
Thanks very much for reading and to Bethan for taking these photos!
Lauren xx

Floral Kelly Anorak

Hello all! I've been meaning to make another Kelly since I made my penguin shower curtain version. I thought that I'd make a slightly more practical one, but how practical is floral? I'm going to say very.
 The fabric is a heavier weight cotton, I think it's upholstery and it was a lovely birthday gift from my friend Esther a few years ago. It's a bit heavy for a dress I think, but perfect jacket weight.
As it's quite a big project I found it easiest to sew a step at a time to keep motivation going. It took a Sunday afternoon, and an hour or so each evening during the week. Everything went pretty smoothly and I'm really pleased with the zip.
 The insides make me happy because the majority are flat-felled which makes for a very neat finish. The neckline is finished with some bra channelling because that's just what I had on hand. The only raw edge is the armholes which I haven't decided how to finish yet.
 I didn't use any hardware because I didn't think it really went with the floral vibe. Instead I used Velcro to close the cuffs, as I did for my penguin Kelly. I've just seen the new expansion pack which has sleeves with no cuffs. In hindsight that would have worked just as well.
 My only deviation from the instructions was to leave the drawstring on the inside of the coat. I'm really pleased with the quality of the finish of this jacket, and as a result am pretty proud of it. It's had quite a bit of wear over the last couple weeks since I finished it and I look forward to wearing it into the summer.
Thanks very much for reading!
Lauren xx