Sultry or Sunshine?

26 Jul Sultry or Sunshine?

 “Well if it isn’t Sultry and Sunshine!” blurted the drunk man upon seeing my friend and me.

The year was 1984. My friend resembled Angelina Jolie and well, I just looked like myself, only 29 years younger. It’s not hard to know who was Sultry and who was Sunshine. I’m not sure what little Miss Sunshine was wearing that evening but I doubt it was yellow.

There is no yellow in my home and I did not own any yellow clothes until two years ago after a Medium told me I needed more yellow in my life. (Blogged HERE and HERE)

Now the color downright haunts me.

After completing the ruffled ivory top made from this glorious Ivory Goes with Everything silk twill from Mood Fabrics, I decided to confront this strange relationship I had with the color yellow.

 The success of The Regis Dress propelled me to buy a bottle of Rit Dye in every color offered including two shades of yellow; Lemon and Golden.

I dyed the remaining silk  with Golden Yellow which resulted in this color.

Then I ordered four more yards of the silk. Nearly three months later I have finally completed the ensemble I set out to make the first week in May.

I cut both colors of fabric into four-inch strips and pieced them together with ¼” seams, bringing back memories of my quilting days. After pressing the seams open, I pressed them towards the ivory strips and topstitched to prevent excessive raveling.

My pattern is the Katie Spade skirt pattern. Taking a cue from Julie Starr I moved the zipper to the side and then decided to omit the waistband.

To give this soft silk twill the durability needed for a straight skirt, I underlined the fabric with silk organza and then lined the skirt with a heavy woven fabric with stretch (fabric content unknown) from my stash.

I’m hoping to dress it down for more casual attire too.

The skirt was a successful experiment for me particularly in the area of dying for colorblocking and trim. How often I wish I had a contrast piece of trim! How often I want to sew colorblocked garments but can’t find the colors I need in the same fabric!

 I’m not sure what I’ll do with the remaining 3 ½ yards of my Ivory Goes with Everything silk but I doubt much of the fabric will remain ivory. Maybe I’ll venture into the sultry colors, but for now I’ll enjoy humoring the intuitive spirit of Marcy the Medium 🙂

Best wishes for a great weekend!