Sewing Catch-Up: Two jumperskirts, two skirts, a vest, a jacket, and an orange wedding dress!

I did a lot of sewing in November and December. No really, A LOT. I did six personal projects, one present, and three commissions! I'll be saving the commissions for another post, but here are seven recent projects for your viewing pleasure.

I'd been meaning to make a black chiffon underskirt ever since I saw the beautiful Innocent World ones at PMX. I had chiffon, I had lace, so why not? I also had an idea for a coordinate that I wanted to try using an underskirt with. Oh, and this was the day before the meetup I wanted to wear the outfit for. (This is not the only time this will happen, I am not a smart woman.)

It was honestly pretty last-minute, and the craftsmanship suffers a bit because of it. Luckily, since it's not meant to be worn alone, it's okay, but the next one will be better. No real pattern used for this one, just math to get the proportions right.

I had two yards of "school uniform tartan" lying around, and had vague plans to turn it into a skirt. I originally had a different design in mind, but because of the limited amount of fabric, I had to modify it into the two-tiered design you see on the finished project. It looks best with a bustier.

I didn't technically use a pattern, but the design is based off of the a GosuRori pattern, #20 from volume 11.

This one you've already seen in the coordinate post--I made it for the Christmas meetup, and the color scheme was inspired by Herr Drosselemeyer, who frequently wears blue in the ballet. Since I don't wear navy, I went with a Moitie-style cobalt and black combination. I, uh, also made this one the night before the meet (but it turned out great anyway, lucky me). Since it was so last-minute, I used random buttons I had lying around for the meetup, but later replaced them with properly matching antique silver coat-of-arms buttons.

I used the same heart-collar pattern for the vest as I did for the brown jacket (see below), from GosuRori volume 10, just without the sleeves.

So this one is out of the ordinary--it's not for me, in case you couldn't tell by the unusual color. It's actually a wedding dress for my best friend from college! Orange is her signature color, and she wanted a 50's inspired dress so that she could dance in it (she is a very good swing dancer). The inner dress is crepe-back satin, and the outer dress is embroidered lace (on a sheer fabric).

She picked out a Simplicity pattern to use for it, which I added self-drafted sleeves to. I also lowered the neckline slightly.

This jumperskirt was also for Taryn's wedding--I wore it as a bridesmaid dress (before putting the final extra ruffle on) without a petticoat and the back waist ties. It made a very cute cocktail dress, but I think it makes an even better Lolita dress, since that's what it's supposed to be!

I used a modified version of the pattern for the red JSK I made earlier in the year, substituting the gathered bust part with a plain version with simple pintuck accent and antique gold buttons. I also added button-on waist ties to the back.

Oh, and recently I realized that I CAN ADD POCKETS TO THINGS. I am so dumb sometimes. So this JSK has a hidden in-seam pocket on one side.

I made a matching jacket to go with it. It has antique gold buttons that match the buttons on the JSK. The pattern is #7 from GosuRori volume 10. The cut-away back perfectly fits the back bow of the JSK, which was a happy accident. I really love the way everything looks together, and can't wait to put together a full coordinate.

When I took the pictures, the colors turned out a little weird. The bottom ruffle is a different dye lot (I had to buy more fabric, oops) but it doesn't look that different in person with natural light, I promise!

The last one is kind of cheating, since I actually finished it today (is it really January already?!). I wanted to make an Innocent World-inspired jumperskirt with simple clean lines, and thought that the cute striped fabric would be great for it.

I can't recall which bodice pattern I used, it was one that I already had drafted and lying around. The skirt is from Otome no Sewing, volume 1. Fun story about the skirt--I spent THREE HOURS trying to figure out the math for the pleats, and finally ended up giving up and using the Otome no Sewing scans to get it right. It ended up turning out great, but it drove me crazy for way too long.

The back has corset lacing with grommet panels, since I didn't want to use any lace. It doesn't really need much fit adjustment, since the pattern was drafted for me, but it makes a really nice decorative touch on the otherwise plain back. The front bow is on a pin, but I like where it is and probably won't ever bother moving it, haha.

Now that I've gotten most of my pending Lolita projects finished, next comes some cosplay work, and even a casual skirt.