· 1950s Nautical for Kathryn ·

I'm getting to be quite jealous of Kathryn's wardrobe lately.  Which is quite silly considering I'm the one making it. ;-)

Long-time readers will know the back-story of why I make her vintage and historical clothing: she's a dear friend and we've worked out a system whereby she is my Personal Photographer and Website Mistress and in turn I make her clothing.  You can see some of her previous requests here.

A few months ago, we made the decision to take a fun girls trip to Maine and naturally, this was the perfect opportunity for a 1950s nautical outfit! ;-)  (oh, and I promise I haven't forgotten about sharing photos of Maine!  My life has been..... crazy since being back so a re-cap of the trip has taken the back burner!)

We had stunningly gorgeous weather every day, so we had our pick of when to take outfit photos!  Portland Head Lighthouse seemed like a pretty wonderful backdrop and as you can see, it didn't disappoint. :-)  After taking these photos, we got lobster rolls at Bite Into Maine (a cute food truck parked near the lighthouse) and took them down to the rocky coast to enjoy our seafood with the salty spray crashing beside us, a great view of the lighthouse, and very few other tourists.  Amazing!!

Anyway... enough spoilers from the vacation post!  Time to get back to the outfit!

I used Simplicity 2154 yet again for this blouse!  I changed the neckline and added buttons down the front, which in turn meant I could eliminate the back keyhole opening.

The big fluffy bow is just safety-pinned on, so the blouse can be worn without it and the bow can be used for other outfits.  It's made from one layer of the skirt fabric and I decided to cut it on the straight of grain.  I'm not quite sure why I decided that?  Might have been due to fabric shortage, but I think it looks good like that anyway. ;-)  I didn't use a pattern for it, just eyeballed about what I wanted it to look like and cut!  Ok, yeah.  I measured a lot, too.  And made a few mock-ups.....

I was so tickled to find these stripey buttons at Hobby Lobby!  They add the perfect touch!

An on-seam pocket for practicality- after all, what's the point of having a full skirt without taking advantage of the suitability for pockets?!  There is an invisible zipper on the other side.

The blouse is made from a lightweight linen/cotton blend from JoAnns.  This is the 2nd project I've used this for, and I'm so pleased with it!  It's also surprisingly cheap for JoAnns and with coupons, is a steal!

The trim is 1/4" wide satin ribbon- turned wrong side out so it's not as shiny.

My favorite method of finishing off these armholes is to cut facings rather than using bias binding.  I usually make my facings so they're about 3/4"-1" wide when finished and I love hand-sewing them down.  A neat, smoother finish than bias binding allows for. :-)

This skirt is made just like her red one with slightly narrower pleats.  It's made from a polished cotton and is lightweight enough to be great for summer, while still having enough body to look professional.  I am sensing a dire need for several such skirts in my wardrobe now.....