sew + tell: wedding wear

Claire first posted these gorgeous wedding ensembles on the Liesl + Co. Facebook group. We love that she turned a casual cropped pant pattern into stunning bespoke formalwear. 

Name: Claire Oman
Country: Currently in England, by way of the Netherlands and Canada

Where can we find you on the internet? Blog, Instagram.

Project details

Link to your project: Shorts and tutu.

Patterns used: Sailboat Top, Skirt + Pants and the tutu pattern from Little Things to Sew (now out of print, some copies still available on Amazon.com).

Fabric and notions:
The main shorts fabric is a wool/poly suiting in navy with a light blue pinstripe with poplin facings and corozo nut buttons. The tutu is made up of soft mesh (with more drape in hand than regular tulle) in layers in white, ecru, champagne, pink and peach. The ribbon is ecru grosgrain.

Did the fabric work well?

Yes, mostly. It was my first time working with this kind of suiting blend and while the polyester content made it great for packing and flying halfway across the world to get to the wedding without creasing, it was also difficult to get it to hold a pressed crease…. Not ideal for turning nice sharp corners on the front panel of the pants, but it turned out nice in the end. The soft mesh’s drape did make for a less full tutu than the pattern photos showed, which in retrospect I should have anticipated, but it did have great movement which made up for the loss of volume.

How did the sewing go?

Beautifully! I joke that I can make the Sailboats with my eyes closed now, as this is my third pair of the pants (one full length and two shortened versions). I’ve also made the skirt for my daughter. The only major change I made to the pattern was to measure the length from the hem of the original full length ones to my son’s knee when he was wearing them and simply folded back the bottom of the pattern piece from that measurement before cutting the shorts. (There is no need to add length for the hem if you do it this way, since the pants were already hemmed. If you are doing this without a made up pair handy, just measure the inseam you want and add the hem allowance before shortening.) I also didn’t topstitch around the edge of the front panel, opting to understitch for a cleaner, more formal look.

The tutu was a first for me, and I was a bit nervous about all the gathering! Following Liesl’s excellent instructions made it a breeze though. Like so many new sewing projects, if you just take it one step at a time you can accomplish more than you expect!

What was the best part?

As much as I love the process, in this particular project, seeing the bride’s and groom’s reactions was the absolute best part. This was my wedding gift to them, and I was happy to contribute to their special day. A close second is the wonderful photos. While I make a lot of my children’s clothes and have a decent camera, they rarely pose for me, preferring to run away or make goofy faces whenever the camera makes an appearance. I know I will continue to cherish these lovely snapshots for years to come.