It’s Time to Book a Cruise Honey

In an effort to subtly tell my husband we should go on a cruise, I will sew resort wear that would really serve me well in a tropical destination 🙂 LOL- In all seriousness, this DIY front slit maxi came about when I was looking for inspiration for this palm leaf print I picked up for a steal at Hobby Lobby this summer. Add in the amazing Cassie from Lilyshinecreates for a #sewtwinning opportunity and I had myself a chance to make something a little extra sassy and fun…enter this tropical little number.

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The Inspiration

The idea for this DIY front slit maxi came from browsing the gorgeous looks of Stylepantry and finding this piece. Her maxi top had me dreaming of recreating the top in this fun fabric. Whenever I have a RTW style to go off of, I begin by identifying the key style lines that I want to use. For this top I chose to focus on patterns that had the following:

• front darts
• bodice that hit at my natural waist
• long flowy maxi skirt with a front seam

Very rarely do I find a pattern that works perfectly on its own. I usually find 2-3 patterns that go well together. Often little changes and tweaks are added along the way as needed, but it really helps if major seamlines match up.

Supplies Used

Patterns Used: McCalls 7777 and 7971

Fabric was a seasonal find at Hobby Lobby and no longer available 🙁

Modifications

During the construction I altered how it was put together slightly. I didn’t follow instructions closely, rather I put together the entire bodice of McCalls 7971 with a lining and then sewed the skirt without a lining. I took the skirt of 7777 and instead of sewing together the front seam, I simply created a narrow hem all the way down each front piece. Then I sewed the sides and back together and attached it to the bodice. I butted the two hemmed front pieces next to each other, making sure it was centered on the bodice front, tacked it in place, and then sewed the skirt on using the 5/8inch seam allowance.

Thoughts about the pattern

I found the back of this McCalls 7971 a little annoying once it was all sewn up. The gaping at the bottom section above the waist was way too much. You could see right in through my dress and I was not feeling super excited to rip off the skirt facing, skirt piece and keep the bodice/lining in tact. The fabric was a bit fragile and I didn’t want to accidentally tear it. Instead, I chose to add darts. I pinched out the excess on each side and clipped it as best I could on myself. Then I sewed darts to remove that excess. I pinched a solid 1-2 inches out…it’s a decent sized dart. So, I tacked it down on the inside so that it wouldn’t flap around. You can see above that my bra tag is kind of poking out…but, for the most part you can wear a regular bra with this top. I mean, if you actually pay attention and tuck your tags in upon dressing 🙂

The length on the skirt was insanely long, I chopped off a solid 4 inches before hemming. I wanted it to almost touch the floor when paired with a high heel, so it is still quite a long skirt even after the amount of fabric I cut off. The slit shows my belly button which isn’t my favorite body feature post 4 kids (LOL) so a higher waisted pair of jeans would have been preferred but these Levi’s did the trick in a pinch.

I am relieved this one worked and thrilled with the end product. Now, I just need that cruise booked so I can have an appropriate place to wear it. Might raise a few eyebrows in the preschool pick up line 🙂 If you enjoyed this sew RTW style- you may enjoy these other posts:

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Until next time,

Happy Sewing