Sewing the Trends Summer 2013 - Sheen Queen

Guys, do you know Justine from Sew Country Chick? She's a super-cool, smokin-hot, LA mum of 5 who left the city behind for a craftier country life. Her story is fascinating and her blog is a rich source of DIY tutorials, cute home projects and inspiring handmade clothes for herself and her girls.  



It's no wonder then that I jumped at the opportunity when Justine asked me to take part in her series, Sewing The Trends: Summer 2013. The premise is to incorporate a summer fashion trend into your sewing, be it an exact copy or just inspiration from the catwalk. I must admit that since I started sewing I cancelled my subscription to fashion magazines and replaced my fast-fashion consumerism with fabric and pattern acquisition instead. So I'm not as in the fashion trend loop as I used to be, but this is why it was quite thrilling to get stuck into this challenge. 

Diane Von Fustenberg / Burberry / Christian Dior
The trend that really caught my eye was Metallic, or 'Sheen Queen' as it was tagged by the magazines. Metallic is so cool, but not something I would normally gravitate towards, or even feel comfortable wearing head-to-toe. So, I set out to make it wearable and came up with this sweet little number!





Isn't it a cute little top? I love how the floral skirt totally prettifies it - the whole outfit makes me feel so feminine. My make was ripped off inspired by the utterly gorgeous Sophie's take on Megan Nielsen's Briar pattern. I traced off the cropped version of the Briar and shortened it by another good 2-3 inches as I'm pretty short-waisted. I then followed Sophie's advice by making the scooped hemlines shallower and drafting a 4 inch (excluding seam allowances) peplum. I don't have photos of this stage (but can do a tutorial if there's a demand for it), but it was basically a bit like drafting a very mini circle skirt. 


I'm no stranger to sewing with jersey, but this jersey was particularly tricky to manipulate - due to its 'crushed' texture it tended to 'spread' out a lot under the pressure of my sewing machine foot. It was nothing catastrophic and the end result is great, because jersey is so forgiving. I used my 'stretch' needle with a zig-zag stitch for the majority of this make, but busted out my twin needle for the first time ever to finish off the neckline, sleeves and hem. Ironically, because of the jersey's texture you can't actually see the difference it makes, so I'll go into using a twin needle in a separate post.


I really like the high-low hem of this pattern, which is much more exaggerated if you don't make the alterations I did. I also think the curved breast pocket is really cute too!





In my head, I always pictured my metallic Briar worn with jeans, but I was pleasantly surprised when I decided to pair it with my floral skirt instead. However, I thought I'd show you how versatile it is, because it does also look cool the way I imagined wearing it originally!


Justine has asked an array of talented ladies to sew this summer's fashion trends, so don't miss out if you're interested in following the series:


Monday 17 June - Bethany from Lil' Bit & Nan

Tuesday 18 June - Me!

  Wednesday 19 June - Shannon from Little Kids Grow

Thursday 20 June - Melissa from I Still Love You

Friday 21 JuneMarissa from Rae Gun Ramblings

Monday 24 June - Abby from Sew Much Ado

Tuesday 25 June - Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts!

Wednesday 26 June - Mercedes from Aventuras de Costuras

Thursday 27 June - Mie from Sewing Like Mad

Friday 28 JuneAlida from Alida Makes

32 comments:

  1. Looks awesome! Job well done :)

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  2. Beautiful!! What a kooky little fabric! I love it! It makes for such a gorgeous, ladylike look paired with the skirt - but I love that you've shown us it's versatility too. Huge fan of versatile makes! I've been super drawn to shiny things as of late - must be those sneaky fashion trends subconsciously slipping into my brain!

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    1. Sallie - you're clearly a fashionista and you didn't even know it ;o) Thanks for the kind words!

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  3. this is like THE cutest top I have ever seen. I may have to rip you off with this one! Excellent choice of fabric.

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    1. Thank you, glad you like it! And rip off away ;o)

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  4. What a lovely top, you look gorgeous in it! I'm seriously impressed with your fabric taming skills because that jersey does look like a nightmare to sew.

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    1. Thanks Cecili! It wasn't too bad to work with the fabric, I just had to go extra slow!

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  5. Super cute! I love this! I like the metallic trend, but I haven't really known what to do with it. This is so wearable and sweet!

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    1. Same here, but I think this top is an easy way to wear a trend that's not that easy to pull off!

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  6. So lovely! Your interpretation of the Metallic Trend is awesome. You make it look so sweet and femenine. Great fabric choice too!

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  7. You look adorable! Well done.

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  8. Totally adorable! I love how you can dress it up or be casual in jeans. Those shoes seem to match perfectly, as well. Super-sweet!

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    1. Thanks so much! I've had the shoes for many years, so it was pretty cool when I realised what a good match they were!

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  9. Well helllloooo Sheen Queen! Looking good there! Thanks so much for participating!

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    1. Thanks again for asking me Justine - it's been a blast!

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  10. This looks awesome! Metallic totally suits you. And I can't go past a good peplum style top.

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  11. That sheeny fabric is gorgeous but it must have been really tricky to sew - well done! I think your top is great. Must say I love that blue Christian Dior dress too....

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    1. Thanks Sally! You should totally do a rip of the Christian Dior...if anyone can, you can ;o)

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  12. Beautiful clothes on a beautiful girl

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  13. That top is gorgeous! I'm not usually a fan of metallic fabrics or crushed textures, but they both come together in the most brilliant way in your top!!

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  14. What a a beauty - I love this! I am so bad at sewing things because I want to try a pattern out / learn new techniques instead of actually making things I'm going to wear, only fr it to sit at the back of my wardrobe and never get worn. I do think challenges like this are great way to get you sewing things instead of buying them... x

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    1. Thanks so much! Experimenting and trying out new techniques is not a bad thing though ;o)

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  15. Wow, this top is gorgeous Marie! i especially love the colour, it's cute but so versatile.

    I also just wanted to let you know, wayyyyyy ahead of time, that I'll be in Birmingham 22nd October. We are going to be driving up from Oxford that day (so will probably get there in the afternoon/evening), spending the night and exploring the next day before driving off to the Lakes District for 3 nights. We will be in Cheltenham later on in November though if that's closer to you?

    I would love to meet up for a quick coffee or chat if it fits in with your schedule. But obviously, it's aaages away (though not really because it's already over half way through June...).

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    1. Thanks Jen!

      Re the visit, I would love to meet you and Birmingham is definitely closer to me than Cheltenham. I'll ping you an email soon to hatch a plan ;o)

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  16. Super cute! I love what you did for the metallic trend.

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