Making this piñata, I mean… outfit was a random, didn’t really care about the outcome, “just because” bit of experimental fun… so of course it turned out perfect. I love it.
So, we were going down to our beach house for the week between Christmas and New Year … and I have this teeny tiny dinky little sewing machine that I keep there and was thinking it was high time to give it a little workout. Other than one other time I made a “real” garment, a pair of shorts, it’s been a strictly curtain-hemming and minor mending jobber. btw, I gave those shorts to Cassie recently, she looks so much better in them!
This cheap little sewing kit that I bought from Coles a few years ago lives in the beach house too; it’s pretty much perfect…
So I packed some stuff to take down with me…. fabric, patterns, thread, zip and a button. I even remembered white cotton for facings, and interfacing. Who IS this efficient creature? I don’t even know. Oh, and pompoms!! Why pompoms?? WHY NOT POMPOMS, is more like the question!
I’d bought the fabric from the upholstery section in Spotlight last year; at the time I’d picked it up to cut so I could pay for my things at the cutting counter rather than at the all-inclusive checkout counter, which I had noticed on the way in was HUGE. The things we do sometimes…. #stashenabler Well played Spotlight, oh very well played… I’m sure they sell a lot more fabric that way. I’d also bought the burnt orange pompom trim a few years ago for something else that never got realised… I’d put them both in the “red” cubby hole in my new storage system and thought they looked quite nice together… so fortuitous! My new system is proving itself already!
Clara says hi… #soBIGnow
I chose the simplest and most featureless of patterns, because the super-loud colours plus pompoms is already a busy enough story on its own… The skirt is basically Vogue 1247 stripped back; I lengthened it by about ?10cm? roughly… this pattern always needs lengthening. Also, eliminated the pockets and horizontal seams, and flared out towards the hem a little more to be more A-line. I think unlined summer skirts do need a little more flare to them, makes them cooler and breezier. The top is yet another riff on New Look 6483, a great basic pattern for a simple shell with a whole lot of variations for the sleeve/armhole and neckline. I’ve had it for years and used it loads of times. This is view B, cropped a LOT.
Everything came from my stash; #stashbustingwin and this button! It’s been in my stash for so long, and there’s never been just the right project for it. As soon as I spotted it again in my button bag, I knew its time had come!
My little holiday-house machine is so very un-serious, like using a toy sewing machine, you can’t help yourself but feel like you’re playing while you’re using it. It’s so clunky and little. It doesn’t even do buttonholes. I actually tricked it into doing a sort of buttonhole, by careful zig-zagging, and manipulation of the stitch length and width, and careful realigning of the fabric to do each side.
I had so much fun making this crazy carefree little number! I was on holiday, just having total fun with it, and so making it felt like a holiday too. I think it even looks like a holiday!
Details:
Top; New Look 6483, cropped
Skirt; modified Vogue 1247
Clogs; designed and made by me, details here
my favourite bit… the pompoms!
This outfit is so fresh and cheerful, love it! I like making things “just because” too, after all that’s part of what hobbies are for 🙂
thanks Carmela! and yes, just because, spontaneous fun is what makes it such a delightful hobby to have… 🙂
what a fun outfit to wear, and the colors are fantastic. You’re right about the skirt pattern – to me it’s the best pattern ever….
thank you Beth! 🙂
Oh it’s so lovely to see that clear blue sky and your beautiful hot colours. Vancouver is grey, rainy and cold. Dingle Balls, a bonus! And Clare – what a whimsical expression.
Last shot a perfect shot. Thanks.
thank you Barbara! hehe, dingle-balls; that’s the coolest name for them I’ve ever heard! Must adopt form now on…
Hahaha, Clare looks puzzled. Great shot.
But the outfit – dingleball alert!! Super fun and wonderful. I have a vintage colourful horizontal-striped top and skirt very much like this, but the skirt is a maxi.
I’ve always done manual buttonholes. Maybe that’s why buttons worry me! Hahaha. I tried the auto function once and it went weird so I stayed away. I should try it again.
Dingle balls!! I love it! I think I remember your horizontal striped top and maxi skirt. Of course you look amaaaaazing in it, in fact, you do in everything!
Must add – I absolutely adore your dog’s expression! The outfit is super fun too, definitely works for you!
thank you Angela! she’s a cutie, isn’t she?! 🙂
I adore this! So cheer- and colourful. Pompom and heart-button, too cute!
thank you so much SaSa! It is pretty fun to wear too, although there have been a few “opinions” if you know what I mean! 😉
Clara says, “Can you believe this lady? She’s uh-maazing, amIright?”
Question: How did you manage an invisible zipper without an invisible zipper foot?
Comment. Love away-cabins and dinky equipment for the same reason: restrictions are essential to sparking creativity. Good designers do their best work turning minimal ingredients into something wonderful.
Happy new year! Don’t melt in the heat we’ve been reading about in the news.
Hi Sankati! I hate to have to admit this, but I don’t even have an invisible zip foot for my regular machine either! I mean, attaching an invisible zip, like any zip, is simply a matter of stitching along a line the correct distance from the zip teeth evenly and neatly, and I’ve always found this to be perfectly manageable with a regular foot. I guess I don’t know what I’m missing!
Thank you, and wishing a very happy new year to you too xx 🙂
This outfit is completely adorable and I’ve just read in the comments that pom poms can be called dingle balls, which has made my day! The beach picture is fantastic.
thanks Megan! I think we should start calling them dingle balls too. 🙂
I love it! What a beautiful background with those gorgeous blue skies!
thank you Shirley! 🙂
A fun and fabulous outfit, and the orange pompons are so much fun.
Wow Clara has grown and wants to know what the clicking sounds is I’m sure (I’ve seen that look from Tomba).
thank you Sharon! yes, you’re right, it’s the clicking sound of my delayed remote that is attracting her attention 😉
Oh this is just gorgeous, so fiesta like, and perfect for the beach. I love your description of sewing it and can just imagine how joyous it all was!
thank you Sue! it’s a lot of fun to throw sensibility and practicality to the wind, we should all do it sometimes 🙂
A really fun outfit.
I’m not certain Clara agrees! (And yes, she has grown so much!)
thank you Kim! 🙂
This outfit looks right at home on the beach! And I’m sure because you sewed them on holiday, you will think holiday whenever you put them on (could be handy in mid-winter!)
Sewing buttonholes like that was the way I first learnt to do them!
thanks Sheryll! yes, my first buttonholes had to be done like this too… made me realise how soft I’ve gotten having a machine that does the needle realignment for you. But I still stubbornly refuse to get an automatic buttonholer!
Such a total delight!
thank you Lori! 🙂
Your “suit” does have a wonderful holiday feel to it! And looking at you in the sun, on the beach (Christmas really?!) does make me tear up with nostalgia (here in Victoria BC). Happy New Year to you and your loved ones Caroline – always LOVE to see what you’re making these days 🙂
thank you so much Kathleen! Wishing you and your family a very happy new year too 🙂 xx
Too cute! Wonderful beach photos too
thank you Vicki! 🙂
Totally in love with that Outfit. Pom Poms, and why ever not?!! Jo xxx
thanks so much Jo! 🙂
Very festive! I love whimsical projects that turn out perfectly.
It makes sewing so joyful!
thanks Pencil Girl! it’s too easy to get bogged down in the practical sometimes, and we all need a bit of whimsy in our lives, yes? 🙂 xx
The colours just scream fun. And the pompoms, so I discovered working at a fabric store this past summer, are so on trend and the have-to-have notion by the young set. Thanks for sharing this, it makes me smile. I’m currently working on another version of Vogue 1247, not as fun as yours though.
thank you so much Graca! I’m so pleased to hear this silly little ensemble is randomly on-trend, yay!!
You’ve given me a flashback to childhood outfits with Bobble-braid. How many names can one trim have? It was very cool in the 60s and early 70s.
thanks Helen! I have nostalgic memories of pom pom trim on my clothes once upon a time too. Long time ago now! #datingmyself 🙂
I love your colorful ensemble. That fabric is so much fun and those pompoms…adorable!
thank you so much Tomasa! 🙂
It turned out so pretty and the pompoms were a great addition.
thanks Olivia! 🙂
I love this outfit! The bright colors! The pompom trim! It’s so much fun!
thank you so much Lisa! Pompom trim is such fun, it’s hard to be sad when you’re wearing pom poms on your person! 🙂
Oh my goodness Clara is just gorgeous!! And so is your outfit! I love the colours, and the patterns you’ve used. That top pattern was my first attempt at sewing & went so disastrously that I’ve never returned to the pattern but now I’m considering it.
thanks Kathryn! Oh no, how did it go disastrously wrong? The only thing I would (should have) say to look out for is whether the bust darts are in the right spot for you or not. Because bust dart location is such a specific and very variable thing for each and every one of us 🙂
So much fun. My Spotty is the opposite, cutting counter queue always takes forrrrevaaah…
thanks Sarah! I should say, sometimes our cutting counter can get annoyingly busy too, but nearly always it’s the other checkout that has the horrendous line snaking back and forth in a very stash-enabling way 😉
I made ottomon covers with same material but blue & used blue pompoms as a trim……coincidence, see my instagram account if you can’t believe I can’t believe. I love love love this outfit.