Sewing Project: Cranberry Shantung A-line JSK and matching bonnet

I've had four yards of beautiful dark red poly-blend shantung hanging out in my sewing box for months now, and while I had an idea of what I wanted to do with it before, it wasn't until the long holiday weekend that I actually managed to get off my butt and do something with it!

I ended up making an a-line Classic jumperskirt and a matching bonnet! It was my first time making both of those things, so it was a lot of fun trying some new stuff (especially the bonnet!). I also had a chance to wear all the new things to a meetup this weekend. 
For the JSK, I made the pattern by splicing together and modifying two ゴスロリ patterns, volume 10 #14 and volume 15 #7. The upper part of the bodice is lined, and the rest is finished with overlocked seams. The ruffle and ruched detailing on the bodice are chiffon, and the rest is the shantung.

There is a zipper on the side (my one regret with this dress is actually that I opted for a more sturdy regular zipper instead of an invisible one--it won't fall apart on me, but it doesn't look as nice) and no shirring--it's all tailored instead! Luckily I didn't need to do too much modification to get the fit right. I did lengthen the shoulder straps.

The bottom inner ruffle and ruched detailing on the bodice are chiffon, and the rest is the shantung. I did the bottom ruffle with a ruffling foot, and the outer ruffle all by hand! It was a pain in the butt, but it was worth it to make sure the ruffles were all even and tight. The bodice is also gathered by hand. The grosgrain ribbon accent was a last-minute addition when I randomly found a spool of perfectly matching ribbon in one of my boxes! I don't remember buying it, but I'm glad that I did.

For the bonnet pattern, I traced one of my Alice and the Pirates bonnets to get the right shape. The ruched detailing on the inside of the brim is chiffon, and the rest is the shantung. I love the nice crisp ruffles that the shantung makes! For the brim shape, I used sew-in hair interfacing (like for historical clothing) since it's what I had lying around, but I'd like to try buckram next time.

Since I'm going to be out of the country for most of the rest of the month, I really wanted to have another meetup before I left. We decided to have a "back to school" meetup at a nearby dessert shop, and what better outfit to wear than the one I just finished? I coordinated it with an Alice and the Pirates chiffon blouse, Metamorphose socks, Bodyline shoes, and a Taobao handbag. All the jewelry is also handmade by me!

I'm really happy with how everything turned out! I think I'd like to do a photoshoot with the ivory blouse that I made, so that I can showcase all my projects like I did with the Black Princess set. It's also been really fun (and challenging!) to figure out how to coordinate things out of my comfort zone--it's been ages since I wore and outfit that had no black in it.

See you all after I get back from vacation!