Black and grey on a sunny day

She asked for a black dress, so I made her one. I used the same silky, subtly-checked cotton that I used a couple of years ago for my disastrous sack-like number, and I'm so happy to have found a better use for it. This is one of those fabrics that's much lovelier in real life, because the pattern is really hard to photograph and the drape and feel of it are just stunning.

The pattern is from A Sunny Spot and it's actually meant to be a top, but I lengthened it substantially and changed the back bodice design to make a neater opening - basically I cut the back as two pieces, then joined them only part of the way up, and finished the neck with bias binding and ties at the back instead of facing and a button.

 

The cardi is from the same book, and replaces a much-loved and much-worn earlier version which now has ridiculously short sleeves. Like my first one, I made it in French terry, having fortuitously picked up a half-metre cut from The Fabric Store's remnant bin during a rare visit there last month. I was careful to make the sleeves on this cardigan nice and long, and I added a few centimetres to the hemline as well. The buttons are lovely and sparkly; hard to see in the photos, unfortunately. Gathering the 'skirt' section of the cardigan was a bit of a challenge - I ended up sewing a thin strip of interfacing along the stitching line before my second attempt at it, and this really helped everything gather up beautifully.

Sewing this outfit has reminded me what a fabulous book this is - and it's all about layers, which is so perfect for Melbourne and its 'four seasons in a day' weather!