Embroidered Bimaa & LIV Skirt

Elena needed some gray leggings. That's where it started. I had this scrap of Girl Charlee gray cotton lycra that was the perfect width. It was a few inches longer than necessary and it seemed like a waste to not use it all, so I cut them as long as I could and added rouching to the bottom 3 inches. They turned out great, and then I noticed this aqua cotton spandex print (not available now I see) also from Girl Charlee sitting there and what a good match. 

Elena really digs hoods. She wears them up all the time, even in the house. The LouBee Bimaa is my favorite hooded shirt pattern and I already had it printed out and traced in a size 5. The only change I made was to add an inch to the bottom so I could hem it instead of doing the band.

I know I could cut that fabric and sew that top up in under an hour, but I made myself slow down. I was thinking I love aqua with yellow and maybe I could add some yellow to this top so she would wear it with her "banana pants" too. I'm still trying to get her to like those yellow cords. I already had the perfect shade of yellow embroidery floss so I went to work embellishing with french knots, stem stitches, back stitches...

Have you ever had someone say to you, "I like your top. Kohl's right? I have it in blue." Man, I hate that. I think that one of my goals in making clothes myself is to make them unique. It is hugely important to me. I want styles that you would see in a store, but I want them to be unique. The embellishments are an easy way to do that. 

I used part of a thin yellow t-shirt to line most of the hood. I wanted something lighter weight than the aqua and I wanted to tie the yellow in some more. The yellow is definitely a fun pop of color when the hood is down.

The skirt is the free LIV skirt pattern from Sofilantjes Patterns. I've made several before and love it for how little fabric it uses and how quick it is to sew. You can go really basic or have fun with the pockets and mixing fabrics. I used another yellow t-shirt and scraps of the gray and aqua. So little waste with this outfit. I also love that you don't need elastic for it. The waistband uses just the perfect sized piece of cotton spandex for a really comfy skirt.

I think I'm done sewing for Elena for a while. She will need a dress for Christmas, but nothing else that I'm aware of. I reserve the right to trump minimalism with creativity whenever the need hits. I have a couple pieces for myself that I need to show you as soon as I can get pictures. I'm going to be letting my blog domain name go in mid-November so I'll have to figure out if that messes things up much. The blog name will hopefully just revert back to workpraysew.blogspot.com, I'm assuming. So if you have trouble finding me soon, just add in the blogspot part. The tech-side of blogging is no bueno for me and I'm beyond wanting to learn it I've decided. Have a great week!