Fiona Bodice + Utu Skirt

What do you do when all you have is a square of beautifully embroidered linen? Piece it into a gorgeous little crop top! I was gifted with a selection of upholstery samples at our last ASG annual meeting and have been holding on/ hoarding them until I could find the perfect use. The Fiona dress seemed like a great match as the bodice is made of quite a few small pieces since it has princess seams. A little cropped bodice is perfect for summer.

I had already adjusted my pattern for my green linen dress (seen here) so it was quite simple to morph the bodice into a top. I lengthened all the pieces by 1″ and then added a 1.5″ (finished) band to the base before adding my buttons. I did need to adjust the top bust a bit more which I’ll keep in mind for my next version. I probably need to lower the bust apex.

As far as the piecing went I cut my pattern symmetrically for the front first, then cut matching straps and then pieced the leftovers to form the back panel. The embroidery originally had dark black floral patterns too, but they looked odd where they were hitting at the bust so I removed all that stitching. I also added decorative stitching using my sewing machine to reinforce the joined edges in a coordinating tan. I wish I had taken a before picture of the square of fabric!

The base fabric for both pieces is a plain weave hemp/ organic cotton muslin. Ordered around the holidays for making my tree skirt at Christmas- but plenty extra in my stash. I’ve used this fabric quite a bit in the past. It’s a great base fabric in a lovely natural cream. When I think of muslin I often think of something thin and inexpensive, but this weave is sturdy and oh so lovely. Check out my wide leg culottes made using the same fabric.

I had originally cut the Utu skirt and was going to use this fabric as a base covered in my collected selvedges. After some thought, I realized it would be way too busy for my style and would just not get worn. So I kept it simple.

This is just the straight pattern with simple gold rings for hardware. I cut this with the selvedge edge at the hem and then left the added length. I just love a good selvedge edge. Plus it now pairs perfectly with this top. They look like a dress when worn together.

All the Details:

Fabric + Notions-

• Upholstery sample in embroidered linen (18″ sq. ?)
• Plain Weave Hemp Organic Cotton Muslin from Organic Cotton Plus
• Basketweave Buttons from Joann’s

Patterns-

• Fiona Dress, Closet Case Patterns Size 10 Modified
• Utu Skirt, Breaking the Pattern Size UK 12/US 8

Next time I make the Utu though I will widen the front panels for more coverage. This does line up correctly but when I walk the front shows a bit more leg than I’d like. For that very reason it’s my husbands favorite skirt!

Try as I might getting photos of this dress was a pain. All the summery weather meant my outfit was totally washed out by the sun. So sunset was the way to go. Of course then Ami wanted to dress up and pose with my too! Amelie is wearing a mommy made dress. You can read more about her dress here.

We’re posing here in front of our gigantic sunflowers! They are crazy tall. And we just planted this flower bed of zinnias and sunflowers a little over 2 months ago. My dye gardens are doing great…the zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, roses, and indigo are really taking off. We used them for our eco friendly easter egg dyeing too. Check out my Instagram for more images/info on that! You can also check out this post I made a few years ago.

Ami had her 8th birthday last weekend. Having her birthday on a Sunday meant we celebrated all weekend long. Saturday we had a girls shopping day. I don’t shop for myself anymore so this was a real treat for Ami. She got the prettiest outfit at H&M from their eco collection. On her birthday she got breakfast in bed…homemade pink drink, Amicado toast (aka avocado toast!), and a single stem pink rose. Then we had a family fun day in Delray beach playing mini golf, going out for bubble tea and hitting the local surf shop. Can’t believe how fast the time flies!

It’s also the start of Me Made May- year 6 for me! Check out So Zo’s blog for more info on participating. I’ll be sharing my daily looks on IG, it really helps me shake up my handmade looks documenting them for the month. Here’s my pledge:

‘I, Rebecca of Sew Pomona, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2019. I endeavour to wear me- made clothes every day- with no repeat looks- every day during May 2019’ 

Happy Sewing and have an awesome Me Made May!