Bunny Ears Are For Losers

My family usually has a big gathering around Easter, as lots of families do. It's not a super fancy affair but I had the idea for this outfit in mind for a while, and sometimes you just need a reason to make something, right?

So here is my black lace crop top and skirt ensemble. Because it was my goal to look like a goth curtain (or Spanish widow?) on Easter.

I got this lace at Pauwels when it was still there (eternal sadness) and kind of knew from the start this was what I wanted to do with it. It's a pretty heavy duty lace that feels like cotton (and pressed like cotton) with a nice drape. I decided to play with the transparency by underlining the skirt and leaving the top sheer. Risqué!

I used a Burda dress pattern I've made twice before as the base for the top pattern, shortening (and narrowing) the sleeves, lowering the neckline a tiny bit and taking a chunk out of the back to make it a bit less boxy. The lace was opaque enough for the seams to not be too jarring, so I just finished them with a zig zag stitch. I did trim and finish the bust darts instead of just pressing them down! All the edges and hems are finished with narrow black bias tape. and then handstitched down.

The skirt is my trusty full circle skirt, shortened considerably. I cut this way longer at first (and had to do some real pattern tetris to get everything out of my yardage!) but ended up chopping about ten cm off because I felt the boxy top with a kneelength skirt was too frumpy.

The entire skirt is underlined in a thin black cotton. I used a plain black cotton poplin for the inside of the waistband since the idea of having the lace up against my bare skin all day didn't seem like a good one. The skirt closes with a hand-picked zipper and a big button on the side!

Wearing the lace top by itself was a bit too much, so I shortened a spaghetti strap top I already owned to make it slightly shorter than the lace. It took maybe five minutes and works like a charm!

It was too cold to wear this outfit as intended, so I kept my cardigan on for most of the day. I did attempt to play baseball in this, and I'm pretty sure the dreadful results of that have more to do with my abysmal catching, hitting and running skills that with the actual outfit!

Universe

Drawn in Berlin while tired one night.

(Click for larger and readable versions)

I Was Born This Way. And By That, I Mean Tired.

I have a small problem with sleeping. As in, I'm not very good at it. Especially the falling asleep part. On normal days it takes me at least an hour, on bad days... Let's just say that on bad days I'm happy to get three hours.

This means that I often feel a bit tired during the day. So instead of trying to fix the problem I just made a t-shirt that says 'BORN TIRED'. There! Done!

Joost and I try to meet once a week to work on a slightly nerdy project, so I asked him to take pictures of my new t-shirt before we got started. He was obviously very enthusiastic and could hardly wait:

Also pictured: the tote bag I got at Les Voizines last Saturday

So yes, I made a black cotton t-shirt. Here it is:

I used a plain black cotton jersey I got at Stoff & Stil during my trip to Berlin. It might seem like a pretty dull fabric to buy on a trip, but I had a very clear idea of what I wanted this shirt to look like (not too drapey so viscose jersey was a no), my local fabric shop had no black cotton jersey and then I found this and just thought it was meant to be. The white is plain white ribbing, which I did buy in Belgium.

The pattern is the Sewaholic Renfrew, a classic I've had in my possession for ages and never made. I still haven't made it as is though, since I changed a few things!

The most notable change is that I shortened the t-shirt a bit. It's not a proper crop top since it's still lower than my natural waist, but it's a bit shorter than most of my storebought tees, which looks better with this type of skirt in my opinion. I also straightened the side seams for a boxier silhouette.

I'm glad to have finally made this pattern, it's a really well-drafted basic! The hardest part about this t-shirt was the letters. I spent a day thinking about what font to use, decided on Cooper Black (the same as the 'Vote for Pedro' shirt in Napoleon Dynamite!) and then spent an hour painting the letters on (with tiny brushes and some patience).

I already fell asleep wearing this once so it's a success in more than one way! Something tells me it'll be perfectly appropriate for work as well.

Berlin/Adrenalin

I'm back from my short trip to Germany! We visited Leipzig and Berlin, saw loads of people and had a blast. I gave the Stoff & Stil store in Berlin all my money and ate SO MUCH FOOD!

First we spent the weekend in Leipzig with our friends Stefhany and Tim. They proved to be great hosts and guides, taking us to good food and making up stories when they didn't know the answer to our questions.

After that it was on to Berlin, where we spent our days visiting museums and hanging out with friends. I also managed to make at least one drawing every day:

(click to see larger versions)

We still had quite a few things planned for our last day, but things turned out a bit different! Picture us, waking up at a friend's appartment in the Oranienstraße. It's 9 in the morning, I just got dressed and the boyfriend is slowly waking up, checking his e-mail.

"I guess I'll just check us in for our flight home tonight, now I'm here"
"Yeah, sure!"
"That can't be right."
"What?"
"This says our flight leaves at 11."
"WHAT?"
"We'll never make it! Why did we think it was at eight???"
"GET DRESSED"
"IT'S TOO LATE"
"GO GET DRESSED I'LL GRAB OUR STUFF"

People, we made it. It was a stressful way to end a holiday and we regret not being able to meet the people we were supposed to meet on that last day, but we made it home in one piece (maybe with a few extra grey hairs).

I came back with a suitcase full of fabric, so expect some sewing soon!