“Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out.”
Jenn Proske
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent most of my week relaxing, planning and counting down the days to my 2 weeks Holiday break. I have so many sewing projects to finish and I plan to spend at least 1 hour a day to get them done. This duster is long overdue and was the pattern (NEW LOOK 6514) selected for the October sew your view with my sew sisters Monica (here)and Felicia (here).
Unfortunately, I am just getting around to finishing and shooting as I lost my sewing mojo for about 3 weeks when my fabric got delayed. My local post office blamed it on Texas (ship from location) and the next day after I complained, it magically appeared on my doorstep. I have never had an issue with House of Mami Wata (here) where I get all my beautiful ankara print fabrics. I had it cut for over 3 weeks along with 3 other projects and last Sunday when Monica and Felecia went live (on Instagram), I got off my lazy butt and decided to tackle and finish the project. It came out amazing and I can’t wait to rock it again with boots to an event in December.
The only adjustments I made were the length and sleeves. I wanted it right above my knees so I measured the pattern and cut. Most Ankara fabrics are 45 inches wide and due to the fact that I did NOT want another floor length Kimono or duster, I opted to use the width of the fabric for the length.
I decided to make minimal changes to the pattern as most of the views I saw look amazing. I only made another minor tweak which was adding a cuff with a solid fabric.
HERE ARE THE STEPS IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO GIVE IT A TRY!
ADDING A TWO (2) INCH CUFF TO THE SLEEVES BEFORE INSERTING SLEEVES – Less than 5 minutes
1. Measure your arm length. 2. Measure the pattern sleeve length and compare it. If the pattern is the exact measurement as your length, all you will need to do is remove 2 inches from the length of the sleeve. 3. For me, the pattern sleeve was a bit shorter (1/2 inch) than my arm length. I would have adjusted it and add 1/2 inch extra based on my arm length and the pattern for a perfect fit, so I only removed 1.5 inches. 4. Measure the lower width of the sleeve pattern (which is the circumference of your wrist).
CUTTING THE FABRIC AND ATTACHING THE CUFF (Refer to photo below – NO FLASH so color is a bit distorted)
5. Cut 2 pieces of fabric – 5 inches long times the width of the sleeve pattern (at the bottom). 6. Fold fabric in half, wrong side facing each other and press.( The width is now 2.5 inches – this include 1/2 inch seam allowance). 7. With right side facing pin, stitch folded cuff to sleeves sewing 1/2 inch seam allowance and finish the raw edges. 8. Press seam downwards and then top stitch, stitch in the ditch or close to the seam based on your personal preference. I opted to double stitch which is totally optional based on style.
Thanks to my beautiful daughter Arielle for capturing these amazing shots. She has taken over from my son AIDEN and truly enjoys it!
As always, thanks for checking in and stopping by. Can’t wait to create a few more looks for the HOLIDAYS! I promise NO more kimonos or dusters for the next few months! I can’t wait to share the dresses and a jumpsuit that are currently in the works!!
Have a BLESSED HOLIDAY AND REMEMBER THE TRUE MEANING of CHRISTMAS!!