My latest sewing aspiration: The tulle skirt...

For some time now, I've mused over the possibility of making this delicate and somewhat tricky item; a tulle skirt. It's an item a girl just simply must have (this girl particularly)! It adds versatility to any wardrobe simply by making an outfit playful, sophisticated, chic and/or classy depending on how you choose to wear it. Since I can only shop high-street online now (on account of living in the K), I have resolved to making items that I really like. The one problem I foresee is finding tulle netting in Kumba. Will hit all the stores tomorrow morning and if nothing turns up, might have to make a trip to Douala as well. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, I've been reading some great tutorial and style posts of tulle skirts online. I managed to collect a sample of the most comprehensive ones, ranging from simple to moderately challenging. I also found some that I think are absolutely gorgeous even though they appear to be out of my league, especially because there are no tutorials. Tulle skirts come in a variety of shapes and styles, but I'm particular to the full skirt and the circle skirt cuts. Looking forward to making one soon. If you also like the big girl tutu like I do, you'll enjoy this collection...

Source: See tutorial here

Source: See tutorial here

Source: blog

Source: blog

Source: See tutorial here

Source: here

The pictures in this post belong to other bloggers. I have provided a link to all the sources. If your picture is featured and you wish it to be removed, please send a message to parasolsandwellingtons@gmail.com and your picture will be removed promptly. Cheers...

Sewing practice: Tried my hand at chiffon.

I'm back. I know I've been gone for too long and I really didn't plan to. I fell quite ill with Malaria and at first I thought I could shake it off in a few days, but it lingered with migraines and sapped the energy out of me for three whole weeks. All better now, hooray!!! I haven't had the chance to sew anything new yet. This blouse was completed just before I fell ill and didn't have the energy to do a photo shoot until today.  

I've had these gold thread jacquard trousers from Zara since last Fall. They went for about £39.99 at the time and there were only three in the store, neither of which were the right fit so I had to order from the online store.  I love them because the fabric is gorgeous and more importantly, they fit perfectly. I recently stumbled upon the perfect blouse to go with these cropped trousers in my sisters closet, during our recent closet reunion! Every time I meet either of my sisters we end up doing a "what's in your closet these days" closet/suitcase raid, which almost always results in a dilemma that can only be resolved by a swap or a reluctant but loving gift! Unfortunately for me, this blouse happened to be too small. It has no sleeves, so I knew immediately that I could make a similar one to go with my jacquard trousers. 

I got half a meter of black chiffon and some glittery fabric (don't know what it's called) from the Kumba main market early last month. Woke up at about 5:30 AM on a weekend morning to get a head-start on it before the girls woke up. Spent my entire morning panicking while working with chiffon for the first time. Took a while for me to get used to the way chiffon behaves during the cutting, pinning and sewing processes. It's also the first time I've made a collar... if I remember correctly. The collar on the original is quite glittery, with bright gold sequins. My copy is toned down and not as glittery, matching the temperature of the trousers perfectly (weird to be thinking this deeply about clothes but, there)! I took the time to carefully put the collar on and didn't cut corners at all. I think the finished product looks great but whats really great is how perfectly this blouse goes with my jacquard trousers. Enjoy...

This is what I was shooting for:

Gold collar chiffon blouse paired with gold jacquard trousers from Zara 

Here is the original I copied:

 I got black chiffon and this metallic thread fabric:

Work in progress

Black chiffon blouse with gold collar and back buttons

Stretched mini twists

Zara gold jacquard trousers

Zara gold jacquard trousers

Items list
Self-made black sheer chiffon blouse 

Gold jacquard trousers(Zara. Sold out. Get it here) Other blogger styling it to perfection Here
Black heels (Zara. Sold out)
Gold pendant necklace worn as bracelet (Express. From years ago)