Fabric Haul - Red, Green and Wine red striped

I have a bad habit of buying kimono bolts in bulk from my favourite ebay seller Kimono Petit Japon (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/kimonopetitjapon)

This is one of 5 from the last bulk buy that I did.

A lovely red striped wool bolt.

Quite narrow stripes.

The wonderful thing about buying kimono bolts is that you sometimes get a label and here it is one for this bolt.

Here is a closeup and a ruler to show the width of the stripes.

It drapes like a nice quality cotton so I will probably make a dress out of it or maybe a skirt and jacket combo.

Fabric Haul - Hot Air Balloon

I will start my fabric haul collection with the latest fabric I have brought recently.

Isn't it gorgeous!

I feel in love with it as soon as I set my eyes on it.

I brought it from A&L Fabric facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/alfabricss/)

It is 100% cotton and cost £15.00 plus £3.90 for postage which is not a bad price for 5.5metres

I love the fact the hot air balloon are big and bold.

Seriously they are big and I do love big prints.

My first thought is of course a yukata/kimono as it is so unusual and I seem to like wearing kimono that standout.  But part of me would love to make a lolita dress from it.  Maybe if the seller has another one for sale, I might get it so save me the trouble of deciding.  However then I would be hoarding.

Making a Dress - Qi-lolita Overdress

Inspiration

Now I have conquered my fear of wa-lolita it is time to turn my attention to qi-lolita.

Well it seems only fair that I do, since I am Chinese so it is a sub-style most suited to my culture.

Design

Luck would have it Otome no Sewing book 10 had two patterns for an qi-lolita overdress.  They are pretty much the same expect where the dress is split.

I went for the side split one.

Of course the book is recommending that I use chinese brocade but this would be a bit outrageous for work so I went for my trustworthy black bi-stretch but to add a little colour I would be using red lining and some red cotton trim.

Construction

During my shopping trip I could not find any decent red trim so I brought some white cotton trim that I liked and decided to dye it.  

Going well...

Unfortunately it is not as red as I hoped but maybe that is for the best.

Now to tackle the pattern.

Looks like I will need to add a little width as it is a little tight on my Miffy 2.  I want to be able to wear this at work and most importantly move.

There that should make it a little more comfortable to wear.

And then I forgot to take construction photos apart from when I finished sewing in the lining for the zip.

and sewing the armholes.

Sorry must try harder in future.

Finished

Ta-da here it is!

I have paired it with my cotton tiered undershirt but I plan to make another one that is easier to look after for work.

Closeup of the top part which still needs some button closure but I can't decide what style.

The back which involved a lot of hand sewing for the invisible zip because of my use of the lining.

Since it was such a plain overdress I went for a bright and colourful lining.

One slight problem is that my seams don't quite match up on the back.  I am always a millimetre out for some reason even though I take so much time to line them up.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed making this overdress as I have been wanting a qi-lolita outfit for ages.  I would like to make another one just because I love the look.

Although next time I will make the side slits a little shorter as they go right up to my natural waist!  So I have to make sure I wear a strappy top.

Fabric Haul - Introduction

Since I started sewing, I have been slowly feeding my fabric stash with all sort of random fabric that I have found on eBay, Facebook fabric groups and random shop purchases.

So I thought wouldn't it be lovely to document each time I buy more fabric.

One it would give me a visual record of what I have brought and also share my thoughts on why I brought it.

I suppose I should also include trimming purchases as well since this is sometime the hardest thing to buy.