Sabrina was my first introduction to Audrey Hepburn, Queen of the Silver Screen! I'm not even sure how old I was when I first saw this movie but its been such a huge influence on me as a designer and artist. Which is probably why she was such an inspiration for this weeks Mystery Box Sewing Challenge.
Wow can you believe I've already made 10 garments from scratch! I guess technically its 11 because A Date With Doctor Strange, came out of my mystery box, even if I didn't label it as so. Well this weeks is sort of a combination but lets start with a picture so you know what's going on.
This fabric was actually really hard to decide what to do with at first. Blue floral can become very matronly very quick if your not careful. My first thought was to make a blouse, I wanted to be Audrey Hepburn from Sabrina! But when I laid it out I had two yards (okay so yes there was a catch I'll get to that in a bit) And I was like, what if I try for a dress, because you guys outta know by now, I try to use every single last scrap of fabric to prevent waste.
I lay out the fabric and that's when I hit a snag, 2yds of 44 width fabric, only on one side mind you its missing two huge chunks of Fabric! like someone layed it out on the crossgrain and cut out a rectangle of some sort.
My feelings exactly, so then I decided to revisit my initial thought, Sabrina.
Now this movie has a ton of iconic looks for Audrey, her white Givenchy Gown is easily in her top ten. But I've always liked her little white shorts/ and cropped button up look.
Her sleeves are a tad longer than mine but I think overall, I managed to capture the feel. So how did I do it? So the top you already know was made from a 100% Cotton, 2yds of 44 in missing 2 large chunks. I used a Vintage Simplicity Pattern 2999 in a size 14 ( Bust 34) as I'm a 36 I had to size it up one to fit me (easy) I followed the directions as listed, and the pattern was so simple I made it in maybe an hour. Definitely can be done by a beginner. I does require two buttons, I didn't have any regular buttons in the right color and size on hand so I used to blue flower shank buttons, which I wasn't sure about at first but they really blend in so I'm happy!
Oh the shorts lol. Okay so I didn't make these this week, I actually made them when I did the "Flower Wower" Dress several weeks ago. The dress was such a mini I wanted to wear some tiny shorts underneath because I wan't sure how I would pose and wasn't trying to moon the world. They're made out of 100% Cotton Broadcloth, so not actually a bottomweight, and I don't normally wear them out. (If I were to make this look for a client I would use a twill or a denim.) The 2999 pattern does come with a shorts option but it is not these shorts. Again I made these back during "Flower Wower" so I used one of my own patterns that I had on hand. I used my pant block, shortened it to a short, drew a waistband, and but in a back zipper (invisible) and called it a day. These are so simple really an novice could handle it.
So this look can't be found on my website because I like it and want to keep it, although I may be offering a version of the shorts in the future depending on how much interest I receive. You can always contact me here, or email me at madsencreations@gmail.com to get this look or any of the others you've read about on this blog made! As always below I have the complete photo set!
