Front open printed Kurta

I loved making this kurta / tunic. The fabric was artificial crepe, quite sturdy kind. The print was summery and bright. This friend of mine wanted a simple A line, sleeve less, round neck, front open kurta with cloth buttons in orange from the print.

 The buttons stop mid thigh level. The kurta fit perfectly and can be worn as a dress or a tunic or as a second layer over t shirt and jeans or shorts.

Chocolate brown Tunic

I had to make a tunic out of this Chiffon kind of saree. The young lady for whom I made the tunic did not want to use the border. So we used only the fabric from the top.There were satin like ribbons running horizontally through the length of the saree. One good thing is that they came vertical in the tunic. Believe me, my sewing machine didnot like at all stitching that smooth satin ribbon part; gave me so much trouble!!!

New Tunic 

It is a straight tunic with full lining in polyester fabric. In between the satin ribbons, the fabric is quite transparent. There are side slits. 

Original saree

Neck and sleeve design

The half sleeves are gathered up to the shoulder in a band and pinned with a button on the shoulder. It should be front open with buttons, but I cheated and attached the plain brown strip of the lining and wooden buttons on to it. That is because the neck is wide enough and deep enough for the wear and why bother with front opening...

Blue cotton Kurta

Though fine beautiful cotton fabric having block printing on it, didnot look very fetching on its own. It came with an orange cut work border with a white cotton lace edging. The border was the width of the kurta, approxi. 30".  

 I had to do something to brighten the neck and should area. So, removed the orange border from the edge, cut it into two pieces and made a trim / yoke below the neckline. Rest of the border was too short to go round the sleeve hem. Iserted it into the should seam, thus making it interesting.
Orange cotton fabric came in the set fro churidar or salwar. part of it is used as 1" edging at the hem of kurta and sleeves. I made an orange piping around the neck.

Cowl neck sleeveless Tunic

Linen striped Summer Dress

This dress is part of a summer wardrobe for a friend. She just picked up fabric at random; it was only 2m in length, thought across it was 44". 
The bodice of the dress has dropped waist in a V shape,  because of which the when the skirt was attached the hemline looks uneven. Took darts through the armhole for a better fit for the bust. Since there was shortage of fabric, I had to use plain white cotton fabric for the neck and armhole facings.
Simple summer dress which fits excellently. 

Red kurta with Applique on it

The fabric is like spun, but synthetic and dull red shade. A friend of mine just dropped it in my lap and told me to do whatever I thought was suitable for her. Since given a free hand, I decided to jazz it up a bit. I had this piece of chiffon printed fabric lying around (almost threw it out a couple times), and felt if I add this in some form, it would lift up the dress. 

As for the form of the kurta, I made a knee length, half sleeve pattern with side slits, about 9" long. There are two uneven panels on the front; narrow one on the left and broad panel to the right. I gave a slit near the hemline and attached the printed chiffon as a facing. It turned out to be a cute detail. Asymmetrical neckline added interest to the kurta.

I cut the chiffon fabric in the shape I wanted (more out of the availability of size and shape), and tacked it in place. Then I stitched blanket stitch / Button hole stitch around the edge, making sure the applique sat flat on the kurta.I used an embroidery frame about 8" dia., to hold the cloth in place. Once done, it was time to add some jazz! I had a few coloureed stones from past project, and tacked them on in clusters. Not visible in the attached photos, alas!

My friend cam around yesterday and tried it on. It fit her well, but she wanted a sleevless kurta, so the sleeves will have to go. May be I will use them on some other piece! how is that?

Linen Summer Dress

A friend of mine wanted a few new summer clothes this summer. It turned out to be a new wardrobe. This Linen dress is part of the new lot. She just bought 2m. of the Linen fabric in Beige colour, not having decided what to do with it. Another half meter more and the dress would have looked luxurious. fabric felt great and stitched even better.

I used the left over fabric from another summer top I made for her in paisley print, for piping around the neck and arm holes, also as facing / border on the hem of the skirt.

The bodice is long, sitting on the hips. Skirt is expanding panels. A cute detail on the pocket made it very interesting. Inside of the pocket is also paisley print fabric.

Took darts from the armhole for a better fit for the bust.

Overall, it turned out to be a nice fitting and modern dress for summer.