A pair of Hawthorns

I finally made a Hawthorn! Well, okay, I finally made two Hawthorns, and I made them a couple of months ago, but still. I made a Hawthorn!

I'm totally late to the Hawthorn party, but I'm so glad I've finally joined. This is seriously one of my favorite new patterns. I rarely make any pattern twice, and having now made the 3/4 sleeve dress and the blouse version, I have plans for more of each.

First up is the blouse version. I made this in a white, swiss dot that I got from Michael Levine, and I couldn't be happier with the fabric for this top. I was clearly inspired by the sample in white with black polka dots. Must have polka dots! The swiss dot was subtler, though, and will therefore be more versatile when it comes to pairing it with things in my existing wardrobe. For the blouse I cut a straight 6, and didn't really have to make any changes, other than raising the waistline seam about half in inch in center front and center back. I frequently have trouble with RTW blouses pulling at the bust, but since Hawthorn is drafted for a C cup already I didn't have to make any changes. This fabric does wrinkle as soon as you look at it, which can get a bit annoying, but It's less noticeable on than when it's on Tabitha. I swear I ironed it, really.

Hawthorn #2 is the 3/4 sleeve dress version. I used a chartreuse Italian shirting (also from Michael Levine), and as this fabric had a lot more stretch to it than I was anticipating I cut a 6:4:6 to make sure that I had a snug enough fit at the waist. The only other changes I made were the same shortening of the waistline at center fronts and backs because for some reason it was dipping quite a bit on both versions, and I also added in-seam pockets. Now, let me just say, I LOVE this fabric in that the color and pin striping are amazing and it feels really good on, but Oh. My. Lord was it a pain to sew. The amount of stretch in this stuff made stripe matching an absolute nightmare, so I eventually gave up on it for the most part. It also made  stitching the sleeve plackets a total bear. As a result, they are far from impeccable, and I really would like to make another one (maybe a long sleeved blouse) to try and get the plackets really perfect. I ended up facing the hem in order to keep a little bit of length, and I think next time I'll just cut the skirt an inch or two longer, since I like my skirts a tad longer than the pattern calls for. It also makes sitting on the floor with toddlers a little more ladylike. All in all, I love this dress, and I've already worn this one a few times too. The boy and I had just gotten back from a bike ride to playgroup, hence the rolled sleeves and rosy cheeks, and this dress is totally bike friendly as well. The bike that I have the baby seat on doesn't have fenders or skirt guards, but a simple dress clip fixes any skirt catching issues, and the skirt is long enough that I don't feel like I'm flashing everyone even when it rides up a tad. I have a million other things in the queue, but I would kind of like to make another of these for the fall now that the weather really is finally cooling down.

(The lighting in our house is terrible, but it hasn't been much better for photos outside lately, so I apologize for the glare through the side door. And boy do I need a haircut.)

Happy sewing everyone!