Hawaiian Dress

I am so happy to have finally finished my Hawaiian dress from fabric sent to me from my sister in Hawaii!  I started it back in June.  I used New Look 6053.  I chose to underline the whole dress since the back ground is white and I want to wear it in the summer without having to wear a slip. 

It is knee length with a back zipper.  The fabric has a design running down the middle of it as you can see and both selvidges have ferns. 

I am so excited- I can't wait for summer! 

Easy Changes to a Skirt Pattern for a Hawaiian Border Print

This beautiful print was a gift from my sister in Hawaii.  To make a skirt out of a border print, the hem needs to be mostly straight as opposed to curved like an a-line or circle skirt.  This New Look pattern #6843 is slightly a-line, but it still works.  The print is curvy and varied so I laid the tissue pattern on top to eyeball the best placement.  I didn't even try to match the side seams because I didn't want to waste any fabric and with the lively print, I don't think it matters!

The pattern called for darts, but I used gathers instead.

A Real Orchid Lei from Hawaii!

Aloha Island Lei sent me this beautiful Butterfly Orchid Lei to try!  It arrived right before Mother's Day (lovely timing!).  It was packaged with a cold pack that was still cold even though it was 86 degrees outside that day.  I followed the directions for keeping it fresh (in a bag, in the fridge) and it stayed beautiful more than 10 days.  I had a lot of fun wearing it to a dance party.  Everyone was very interested in the lei.  It was surprisingly comfortable to wear and I felt very special!  I could see giving it to honor mothers, birthdays, graduations.  For a different look they offer a Kukui Nut Lei.

Receiving this lei was fun also because I have a sister living in Hawaii and my mother, aunt, and grandparents used to live there too.  It brought back fond memories for them.

I am inspired to sew my beautiful Hawaiian fabric now.

Thank you Aloha Island Lei!

Tapa Bark Cloth from Hawaii

My grandmother lived in Hawaii in 1936 and brought back this bark cloth. It is made (we think) from a coconut palm tree. It measures 71" x 49". Each "square" is 14" x 12". It is rather stiff and is starting to rip in places. I can't imagine people actually wearing it. Maybe, like linen, it would soften with age or maybe this was a wall covering.

This shows the back. Right now, I have it rolled loosely on a shelf, wrapped in a sheet. I would love to display it somehow, but I currently don't have any wall space left!