……more quilted, more Bubble Frock, and more Cecilie Bahnsen inspiration!!!!

This top seems to be a continuation of pervious themes: my love of using quilts as fabric for clothes, my love of the Bubble Frock pattern (by Lydia Naomi), and my love of Cecilie Bahnsen silhouettes!!!

The first time I used a quilt to make something, it was a Cecilie Bahnsen-inspired coat. With that said, I can’t promise that I won’t continue down this path. It can get labor intensive but it’s been quite fun honestly. Once I found out about CB, I went straight to Pinterest to save anything CB that caught my little eye. One piece that always popped back to mind was the following:

After I’d made this ruffly sweatshirt and short set, I had so much quilt left over that I set it aside with the intention of making this top. As warmer months were fading, I turned my attention to more covered makes. When I finally made a top using the Bubble Frock pattern, I thought it was the perfect pattern to hack into this top!

The hardest part of all of this was trying to find matching cording. I had to settle for making straps out of left over scraps and resorting to using a white cording (for now)!! I may play with dying the white to get it closer to the original quilt color but it was holding up the whole project. I was too close to scraping the whole thing for some cording so I made an executive decision for the team (perfectionist me vs just-get-it-done me) and went with the white.

As for the juicy hack details:

• Made no alterations to the front bodice
• Removed about 2.5″ from the back bodice side
• Folded in the back back center under to create a channel for the cording
• No change to the skirt front or back. Just attached at the front only.
• Ran cording thru bias binding of the back skirt pieces so that I can gather and tie. Secured it down at sides
• Finished exposed bodice top and bottom and skirt top with bias binding made from scraps.
• Had to piece skirt together and removed ruffles from one part of the quilt to match pieces missing of the skirt

Overall, I LOVE HER! Say it with me, “it’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever made!” Now on to the next project! I have at least 3-4 more quilts waiting in line to be reworked. I’ll save for a little deeper into the fall. I really should concentrate on making more basics BUT…………..the likelihood of that happening is super slim. Ya girl loves a statement piece! (Until I have to humbly run to the local supermarket for a pint of my favorite Tillamook ice cream and all I have are showstoppers!!)