Birthday Butterfly Reveal

Could you tell what I was making with my butterfly fabric last week?
Pictured is a very tatty Burda Sadie pattern which has been adapted many times to create endless variations of a simple t-shirt. Last year I added a full length skirt to create a summer maxi-dress, but I thought the lovely butterfly fabric needed something a bit more special.
I drew around the existing pattern (in green above) and then used my french curves to change the neckline to a v-neck, and create little cap-sleeves.

The sleeves turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, and I think I will use this again if I need/want to make short-sleeved tops. I also played with the waist-line to make a feature of where the top would join the skirt (with flat piping around the seams – not quite so easy in jersey). The waist is lower than I planned, due to the effects of stretch/gravity, but I couldn’t face undoing all that piping to adjust it (maybe I can make some gathered or pleated waistband details?)

I finished all the seams with contrast bands in a deep inky purple I had left in my stash (which means it perfectly matches a shrug I made with the same fabric). The shape and depth of the neckline is pretty spot-on, and has an applique facing (inspired by an article in Threads this month) which was much easier to get the shape right than by using bias-strips.

I also discovered a new potentially-embarassing-if-neighbours-walk-past posing-spot in the stairwell of my building, but since it was late at night I decided the risk was worth it. I was on my way back from birthday celebrations at the Southbank where we bumped into this character..

Big Ben Wenlock

I think one of my summer holiday activities will be to track down as many Olympic mascots as I can – I have been told that there is a Wenlock/Mandeville decorated like a phonebox near St Paul’s.