Chiffon maxi skirt & matching top

chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com (Click through for more pics & info)chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com BELLA SARDEGNA

Ciao! We’ve just come back from our amazing honeymoon trip to Italy/Sardinia. (Sorry, for the photo spam, but the Mr took so many pretty pictures, I just had to share!) Just before the trip I managed to squeeze in some selfish sewing time and make something for my travel wardrobe. The dress I’m sharing today I made for my birthday, which was mostly spent strolling through town eating ice cream and reading at the beach – which is pretty much my definition of a perfect day.

It’s actually a maxi skirt and separate top combi and therefore was a great addition to my capsule vacation wardrobe. The fabric is a navy chiffon with a mint & pink bird print that I got ages ago at Walthamstow Market, London, in one of the dodgy shops at the far end of the market (a couple of houses from Saeed’s). It was only ‎£1/m and I snatched up about 3 metres (140m wide). chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

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chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

The pattern is more or less self-drafted. That’s because I didn’t make a proper pattern for the skirt. It’s a maxi half circle skirt and I drew the pattern right onto the fabric, no paper pattern needed. I had 3 metres of this fabric, which was just enough for a half-lined top and a half circle skirt. I would’ve needed almost twice as much for a full circle skirt, but the half circle looks great, too, and was much more practical to wear on a windy island. The skirt has a knee-length lining I made using some poly satin scraps.

I attached a straight waistband to the skirt and added a mint coloured invisible zip. It matches the print perfectly, but for some reason we forget to snap a pic showing the zip. The side seams are overlocked and I used a rolled hem foot to machine-roll the hem. As I wasn’t dealing with expensive silks and also had a pretty tight schedule I skipped the whole hand-rolled hem business this time. It’s ok to cheat sometimes, right? And to be fair, it looks so pretty and even, I probably wouldn’t have achieved similar results by handsewing.

The top is from the Sew Over It Vintage book and it’s the first garment I made using the book. I drafted the bodice block as described in the book (same as the Anita Tie Top) and shortened it into a crop top. I used two layers of fabric for the bodice front, so that the back is pretty much see-through, but the front not so much. As I spent most of my time at work and not the beach, some decency doesn’t hurt, right?

The shoulder and side seams of the top are finished with french seams and the armholes are bias-bound. I overlocked and machine sewed the hem. The top was really super quick and easy to draft, cut and sew, just one of these happy projects I need every once in a while to keep my sewing mojo going.
chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com
chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com
chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

chiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comchiffon dress and top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

I really love the skirt/top combination and wore it loads on holiday. The skirt looks also great with plain white or grey t-shirt and the crop top looks super cute paired with some high-waisted jeans.

Have you made something for your vacation wardrobe? Do you like sewing garments for a capsule wardrobe or do you love stand-out pieces when you go on holiday? I’d love to know!

Charlie


Happy sewing!

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17 thoughts on “Chiffon maxi skirt & matching top

  1. Those are outstanding pictures. Your skirt and top are just fabulous! Love the material and it just flows with the wind and the sea. thanks for sharing your pics with us and looks like you had a great, great honeymoon. You always look so very lovely.

  2. Stunning combo, they look fab on and the fabric was a bargain, the floatiness is lovely and like the way you’ve done two layers at the front and one at the back, I’ve always avoided chiffon but is looks amazing to wear so maybe I need to face my fear. Gorgeous photos too.

    1. Oh, you should try! It’s really not that difficult. I actually started with chiffon when I learnt how to sew. It’s really not that bad 🙂

  3. Sehr schön! Ich mag ja keine Crop Tops, aber die Kombination ist gut 🙂 Deine Sandalen sind auch voll schön (auch wenn du sie nicht selber gemacht hast ^^)!
    <3

  4. “Vacation wardrobe” insinuates going on vacation! lol But seriously, in the past I’ve just thrown two or three dresses in a backpack with one top, one sweater and one pair of pants and called it a day. Nothing special, just something to get me through the day easily. 🙂
    Your outfit is stunning though! Makes me want to draft my own maxi skirt. Love the fabric choice as well.

  5. Gorgeous, just like the surroundings. Love the see through look abs most of all how well your sunglasses match! Every happiness for the future

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