Winter Holiday planning

Once again we are departing Melbourne for 10 days warmth and relaxation in July. This year we are going to Timore Leste, where Hubby will have just finished a work project.
Hubby tells me that, in Timor Leste, women swim (or bathe perhaps) in t-shirts and shorts or similarly modest apparel over their swimsuits. To do otherwise will most likely attract unwanted attention.  Now, I don't have any shorts that are suitable for swimming. In fact, I own very few pairs of shorts indeed.
I was just checking out the restylista's blog and saw this post
Perhaps the answer is a play suit in seersucker or similar light-weight but opaque fabric. Sewing out of season will be a challenge, but I have been tempted by the idea of a playsuit for some months now, although I could not imagine myself wearing one.
Now to see if I have/can find a suitable pattern.

Wrap skirt

The weekend before we left for Fiji I decided I needed one more garment, either a skirt or shorts. I had some light weight printed cotton in my collection that worked well with the palette of my Fiji wardrobe. After letting it sit on the couch amidst the rest of the Fiji wardrobe for a few days, I decided it was skirt fabric.

I chose New Look 6637. The envelope says "Easy 2 hours" and while the construction is easy, it seems to me that the "2 hours" refers to time spent on construction, exclusive of cutting the fabric etc.
Once I had cut out the skirt pieces I decided the fabric was too lightweight - I was worried about transparency - so I underlined it with scraps of poplin from other projects.

All in all the project took me about 7 1/2 hours, but I did stop for meals, laundry etc. I think its the first time I've started and finished a fashion garment in the same day.

I'm quite happy with the finished garment, and will probably make 1 or 2 more for the Aussie summer.  Perhaps I'll even make one a tiny bit shorter. I might also alter the side seams to give it a slightly more A-line finish, if I remember. 

I am glad I added the underlining, as I think it would have been not only transparent, but a little fly-away without the extra weight.

Coming soon - Travel wardrobe

Inspired by (a) Gertie of Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing and (b) the mini wardrobe challenge I am starting to think about a capsule collection for my imminent Fiji holiday. We plan to leave in 2 ½ weeks, and instend to be away for ~10 days. It has rather snuck up on me; therefore, I am trying to tell myself I cannot possibly make an entire new holiday wardrobe in that time. Instead, I will compile a collection from my current closet, and perhaps expand and accent it with a few carefully chosen sewing projects.


Stay tuned for pics of the starter collection this weekend.