Two-Piece x Set-acular !

Happy Labor Day weekend!! I'm in Brooklyn right now having a ton of fun with family! Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays because of the way that Brooklyn celebrates. The whole weekend is a celebration of West Indian culture. All weekend, people carry around flags and wear clothes to rep where their from. Flags on car hoods and reggae and soca blasting from every block! I just love it! Tomorrow (Labor Day) is the West Indian day parade on Eastern Parkway and people will have their floats and mass trucks with music to represent their country. I love being West Indian!

Anyway! lol I went up to Central Park this afternoon to go take pics of my new 2 piece set for Two-piece Set-acular. I made a 3 quarter sleeve crop top and a knit pencil skirt for my set. Wasn't the ideal weather for it lol but I still got some nice, not sweaty, shots lol.

This fabric is a textured double knit from Michael Levine's. It definitely provides a bit of warmth which makes these pieces great for transitioning into Fall.

For the skirt I used the skirt pieces from Vogue 8825. I made 8825 before and I really like the way the skirt fit me.  I was originally planning on putting the pack piece on the fold so that I did not have a center back seam, but I forgot that the back is a curved seam to follow the curve of the body. No worries. 

The top of the skirt usually ends right under the bust so i folded the top down and folded it like you would to sew a blind hem but instead I serged the pieces together to create a type of faux waistband. It was really easy and I liked the design element. I serged the bottom of the skirt, folded up a 2 inch hem, and hand stitched a blind hem.

For the top, I used Simplicity 1325. I'm usually a 10 or 12 on top for knits so I thought that the pattern going up to a 14 would put me in the clear... uh no. The finished garment measurement for the 14 was a 35... i'm a 38. I decided to put the bodice front an inch away from the fold.  That ended up giving me an extra two inches along the entire front. Which not only meant increased bust, but also a gaping neckline and a huge waistline. To remedy the situation, i cut a low round neckline using a dress on which i LOVE the neckline and using a larger seam allowance on the waist and grading toward the bust.

I ended up with 2 inch seam allowances along the waist which i just trimmed down.  I drafted a facing for the bodice front, serged it's edges and hand sewed it down.

I cut about 4 inches off the bottom of the top to create the crop.  I hemmed the sleeves and the top the same way I created the faux waistband on the skirt so the sleeves and and the hem have faux bands as well.

So I don't have anymore extra explanations soooo, enjoy these pics while I go get ready to enjoy this flag day cookout and get ready for J'ouvert tonight! I'm so excited, I haven't been to J'ouvert since I was in like, middle school.

J'ouvert is the pre parade celebration. It's pretty much one big carnaval in the street from like around 11 at night until about the parade starts the next morning lol. It's actually a parade in itself where smaller mass groups go down the street blasting music and throwing things lol Yes. Throwing mud, powder, paint and other foolishness lol. You can rest assured I WON'T be wearing my 2 piece set lol The police have been setting up the barriers for J'ouvert since this morning so this is definitely a thing.

But let me not get ahead of the day lol Here are the rest of the pics from Central Park:

See you in the next post!... if i make it out alive lol jk jk

Happy Labor Day :-)

xoxo, Tasha

partying over here, here, here, here and the sidebar parties!