The Black and Purple Cairo Skirt

The Black Silk Emilie Blouse is worn with the Black and Purple Cairo Skirt in each of these photos. I really LOVE this outfit!


When creating the skirt, I decided to include two lines of embroidery that highlighted the centre front panel.



I wanted the embroidery in black to still have an eastern feel to it, so I used a more geometric design.



The Penelope Red Cairo Skirt has been handmade from a black linen and purple silk/cotton blend. The draped black body creates a feminine line, the contrasting T-bar in purple around the waist and centre front, makes an elegant impact.



This design is part of the Red Queen Collection, inspired by Gustav Klimt paintings and Ancient Egyptian Costume. The one-shoulder look of the Black Silk Emilie Blouse, and the pleating on the skirt, reminds me of something an Egyptian Queen would wear. The vintage metallic braid and black embroidery help to convey a feel of eastern design, but they also remind me of Gustav Klimt paintings as well.

Etsy Embellished Embroideries

Every Wednesday, I like to try and showcase some of my fellow Etsians, and their beautiful work. I have to admit, recently I have been a little slack- been very busy, but I hope to get back into it!

Whenever I visit the Etsy site, I like to browse through the front page, and I add what I like to my favourites. Any one that has a free account with Etsy can do it; and it is also handy to keep aside for when you are looking for gifts, as the amount of stores on Etsy can sometimes be a little overwhelming!

If there is one thing I always appreciate, it is embroidery and embellishments. I adore anything that has had effort and time placed into the quality and craftsmanship of the work.

I have picked the following three examples of beautiful designs, mainly because I admire the detail each designer has put into their work. They are all very unique to one another, and are very beautiful in their own right.

Bright Red Laptop Sleeve by ShibaNgDesigns

Felted scarf-collar Neglected Garden by Rudman

Wrist Cuff Morning Glory Botanical Illustration Textile by Waterrose

My Red Halter Dress: "The Making of" by Penelope Red

Sometimes it is important to sew something beautiful, just for the sake of it! Any excuse is a good excuse, especially when the weather is as bad as it was last weekend! It means I have no issues about feeling guilty for staying in doors all day.

I will be attending a friend's bush wedding in a few weeks, and weather permitting, I wanted to wear a dress. In October, the weather can be anything from 35.C. (like it was two years ago) to 15.C. like it was this week. I am hoping for warm weather!

I recently bought some really pretty and brightly coloured sandals, intending to wear them at the wedding, so I was inspired to make a bright dress!

I decided to make a halter dress. I have also been constantly making straight skirts, and I thought a full skirt would be a nice change. Also, since the fabric was linen, if I had made the style to tight across the hips, it would crease dramatically.




I placed interfacing throughout the bust and waist areas. The bust has darts and pleats to create the fullness.



The back waist area.


Over-locking the side seam.


Placing the invisible zip in.



I always like to make sure my seams match!



Finishing off the bust area.



The outside of the dress completed.


The inside should always be as neat as the outside!

The next decision was placing the gorgeous embroidery around the top of the waist band. This embroidery is recycled originally from doily's! It is actually an appliquéd design, which I just cut around, and neatly hand appliquéd the design to my dress.





The finished product:




I intend to get some better photos at the wedding, or the next time I wear it. I will post them, hopefully, soon.

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