I couldn’t believe my luck when I was generously offered this Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabric from Minerva. My heart literally skipped a few beats when I first saw it.
Liberty Tana lawn is renowned for its quality, made from very tightly woven, fine cotton threads. It feels light, lusciously silky smooth with an edge of crispness. The selection of iconic floral prints showcasing ambient colours are spectacular and can put any indecisive head into a spin.
I settled on the Hilary top by Tessuti patterns for the top. I knew it would be a safe bet as I’ve made it before in double gauze and loved it. This time I decided to forgo the peplum and make a short and puffier sleeve by following the instructions found on the Tessuti blog. For the skirt I used Simplicity 7467, a vintage skirt pattern that I recently picked up at an op shop for $1. A 1970’s pattern seemed fitting for such an iconic fabric.
I knew I wanted to make something special with this fabric but also wanted something that wouldn’t sit in my wardrobe waiting for a special occasion, because let’s be frank – they are few and far between these days. After much deliberation I settled on a two piece spectacular; yes a matching skirt and top that can be worn on their own or combined to look like a dress. How’s that for versatility? I also wanted to embrace the puff sleeve and frills that is so 2020!
The Liberty Tana lawn is a dream to sew. It folds easily on grain, doesn’t shift too much and presses beautifully. I would however recommend using a fine needle to sew such a delicate fabric. I also went the extra mile and used French seams, which work really well with this fabric. Unfortunately I made a rookie error when hacking the sleeve and had to recut them out again and was literally within a few centimetres of having enough fabric -yes there was cursing and sweating! A sensible person would toile when dealing with such a special fabric. I therefore had very little leftover fabric but did have enough to squeeze out a matching scrunchie. I’ll be sure to use up every other last inch of scraps, as liberty lawn makes amazing scrap busting projects – think bunting, pocket linings, masks, Christmas decorations, bias binding, dolls clothes…
I have to say I’m super stoked with my two piece spectacular. I wore it to a friend’s wedding and felt well put together, yet comfortable. It’s airy and light which meant I kept cool on the dance floor and it didn’t crease up while sitting for dinner. I also equally love that I can wear it more casually as a top with some jeans and a skirt with a more casual linen top (more photos to come). I can see this Liberty print being in high rotation in my wardrobe this summer. I think the Liberty obsession has begun!.
Pins and Needles NZ 