Dawn is flying off to Madiera this month and has made this gorgeous Liberty Kimono with a matching beach bag – she’s definitely going to be the best dressed on the island! Dawn tells us about her projects:
“When the new 2022 Liberty Classics arrived in the Studio I was immediately drawn to the new blue and white Tresco L-CC. The Tresco design is one of my favourites (I know, I know – I say that EVERY time!), and the shades of blue teamed with bright white immediately made me think of azure swimming pools and warm sunshine… so a poolside kimono-style cover-up and a beach bag were the order of the day!”
“I’ve made a few kimonos of this style before using Tana Lawn and the fabric is lovely to work with and has a gorgeous drape and finish. They fold up really small – ideal for packing – and I usually use them as a lightweight dressing gown when on holiday. This time though, the blue and white Tresco definitely needed to be a beach cover-up.”
“I made the pattern myself by unpicking a cotton ‘yukata’ I brought back from Japan a few years ago and copying the pattern pieces. The yukata is a cotton robe that used to be worn by the geisha underneath their more elaborate and expensive kimonos. The yukata could easily be washed and so kept the outer kimono pristine. It’s really a series of box shapes stitched together, and very easy to make. As I am ‘vertically challenged’ 3 meters of material is just the right amount to make the full-length robe.”
“With the leftover fabric, I made the beach bag to match and lined it with one of the Oakshott fabrics in a gorgeous complimentary blue called Lake Constance. I already had the bamboo handles from a previous Studio clear out (hurrah!), but you can still get this sort of thing online.”
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