A Celeste in Calcifer Colours: a Literary Sewing Circle project

I finished my own project for the Literary Sewing Circle this week, and I love it! My inspiration came from the description of Calcifer, especially when Sophie first sees him when she ends up in the Moving Castle for the first time. 

She stretched out a creaking arm and heaved a log on the fire, which sent a spray of green and blue sparks flying up the chimney. She heaved on a second log and sat back, not without a nervous look or so behind her, where blue-purple light from the fire was dancing...she turned back to the fire, which was now flaring up into blue and green flames. "Must be salt in that wood," Sophie murmured... She was side tracked a little by imagining a face in the flames. "It would be a thin blue face," she murmured, "very long and thin, with a thin blue nose. But those curly green flames on top are most definitely your hair...and those purple flames near the bottom make the mouth..." Curiously enough, the only orange flames in the fire were under the green eyebrow flames, just like eyes, and they each had a little purple glint in the middle that Sophie could almost imagine was looking at her, like the pupil of an eye...

 

 The unusual colouration of Calcifer's flames made me think of a fabric I had in my stash -- actually an old sheet (probably from the 80s) that I've had for quite a few years. It leapt to mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The hard part was trying to decide what to make with it. I certainly didn't want to waste the fabric, as it is totally unique -- hard to get more of a thrifted sheet from years ago! 

I ended up going with a dress I've made before, which I also thought was pretty suitable to the Calcifer theme. It's the Celeste by Itch to Stitch, as a nod to Calcifer's previous existence. 

I made a couple of modifications this time around. I lengthened it slightly so it's just below the knee, and I extended the sleeve from a short to a 3/4 length, with enough of a turned under hem that I can fold a small cuff as well. Just as with my first version, I didn't put a side zip in, although this fabric is a bit more unforgiving than the linen blend of the first one so it's a bit of a shimmy to get it on. 

I really love how it turned out, and am particularly pleased with the sleeve. I extended it but then checked against another pattern that I liked, and realized that I needed to make the sleeve a bit straighter, as it would have been too narrow at the hem the way I'd first drawn it. A handy way to double check - now the sleeve is perfect. 

I took pictures at an art opening at my library; I felt like it was a good occasion to wear this. Love this easy to wear pattern, and I'm especially happy with this version, which feels more like a fall/winter version to me than my first one which was in floral print with short sleeves! That one is a summer staple. I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of my Calcifer dress. 

Celeste at Summer's End

I've been working on a few summer dresses to finish off my summer sewing, and now I can share them with you! My favourite so far from the queue has been the Celeste dress by Itch to Stitch. It's a simple shape, with nice lines and a good fit -- and I love the pockets. I made it in a busy floral linen so you can't really see the lines of it but I love the feel of it. Definitely making this one again. 

I didn't deviate much from the pattern. I graded from one size at shoulder to the next size up at hip (8/10) while tracing the pattern, and that is about the only real change I made. Oh -- also, because of my shape, I was also able to leave out the side zip - it pulls on over my head no problem. It fits really well and I found it really easy to sew. 

I popped down to the public garden in the middle of a traffic circle near me to get these photos in the lovely evening light. What a great spot. And makes for a nice evening walk too.

I was using a linen blend from my stash, and so I finished all the seams with zigzag stitching to prevent fraying. Because the princess line seams were all pressed to one side, I finished most of the seams together. It's very tidy. 

The front yoke is supposed to be self-lined but I didn't want to use the linen in two layers. I had some black cotton broadcloth in the stash that was lightweight and smooth against the skin so I used that instead. The inner yoke is supposed to be attached via stitch in the ditch but I find that when I'm doing something this shifty, I always miss an edge somewhere and the topstitching gets messy, even with the edgestitch foot in use. With this fabric I wanted to do a nice clean finish, so I hand-stitched the yoke down on the inside. It didn't take much longer than setting it up to machine stitch, and I love the smooth and even finish. 

The pockets that are built into the side panels are perfect -- not too big or small, and in just the right spot. They are big enough and sturdy enough to hold my phone :) 

I found this a really easy sew and enjoyed the process. The pattern is clear, the linen fabric was a dream to work with, and I love the final fit. I can see making this up in a variety of colours/fabrics. 

Huge flowers or tiny person? You decide...