Liberty in Bloom

I have finally returned from a loooong holiday. We hit the road minutes after my husband chased the kids out of the classroom on the last day of school for 2010 and only arrived home last week ready for the student-free days before school resumed today. The Queensland floods meant that the highway home was blocked at both Gympie and Rockhampton which meant I had no choice but to sit it out and eat an abundance of cake cooked by both my sister and sister-in-law.

Anyway, now that I've escaped the rain and floods of the SE and arrived home safely to my usual dose of tropical rain and localised flooding, I can start thinking about my sewing plans for 2011. Dresses! Dresses! Dresses! That's my plan!

Simplicity 2599

This is my third version of Simplicity 2599. I actually sewed this top last year but ran out of time to blog about before I left for holidays. It was sewed using a Liberty Print with a peacock feather design.

The changes:
1. I used bias binding on the armholes rather than making a facing.
2. I used french seams on the sideseams due to the lightness of the fabric.

The problems:
1. I need to cut the armholes in at the back. They're too wide and therefore make my already wide shoulders look even wider. This makes for a very unflattering backview, me thinks.
2. I'm still getting a lot of slack pooling around the CB at the neckline. This seems to be a problem that occurs with every top/dress I make. I must find out how to alleviate this problem. Suggestions welcome.

The flower was made using a mixture of green silk chiffon, silk dupion and poplin.

Ok, must dash. My oldest child started prep today so I must be on time to pick her up. I can't believe she is already in school.

For more cool creativity head over to Kootooyou.