Lively is Lovely! – Liviality

George+Ginger‘s new design has been released and it’s amazing and right on trend!
I’m officially obsessed with those sleeves, I want all the bell and lantern sleeves now! 😀

The pattern is called Lively Top & Dress made for knit fabrics and has different options the allow you to play and have different looks:

2 lengths: Top and Dress;
2 sleeve options: Bell and Elastic;
Gathered details on shoulder and back, or plain bodice.

Some other features of the pattern are:

Fully lined bodice ;
A gorgeous scoop neck;
The possibility to use wovens for the bottom part of the sleeve and skirt.

I started my Lively collection with a Top length, Elastic Sleeve and 2 linings instead of having the rushing on the shoulder and back:

For this one, I used CL for the bodice, lining and upper sleeves and a woven rayon for the skirt and bottom sleeves.
I made a size 14 and graded it to a 12 at the waist, following the size chart, and it’s a perfect fit!

This is another reason why I love Kristi’s designs so much… grading and fit are always a breeze. It makes the processes of clothes making so much pleasant and enjoyable!

I don’t remember where the CL came from but the woven was purchased at the weekly market in town.

This top just makes me happy!

The second Lively I made was a Dress:

I, again, chose to use 2 lining pieces for the bodice and went for the Bell Sleeves this time.
This pattern was the perfect project for this tie-dye rayon knit I bought a while ago at Stof-inc.com.

If I already loved the top, I have no words for the dress!
The fit, the length, the sleeves… it’s all perfection!

Top, Dress… the conclusion is that I need all the Livelies in my closet! There’s something about Bell sleeves that makes you try harder to be gracious. Or is that just me? 😀

When I get my hands on a pattern that I love I immediately start thinking of ways to hack it or modify it a little bit so I can still wear it all the time but have different looks.

Lively was no different!

I must confess to being very proud and very obsessed with this one. It’s amazing when you manage to bring the image in your head into reality!

So, what did I do?

I used the body of the Posh top as a guide to bring the bodice down to a regular shirt length, making sure to have a looser fit as I didn’t want it skin tight;
I adjusted the neckline to be 2 1/4″ higher;
Measured and cut a line for color blocking on both the front and back bodice. The front is a bit convex and the back slightly concave (almost straight), and added SA to each piece;
Added a neckband instead of lining the bodice;
Upper sleeve and bottom sleeve remained the same.

This was my first time sewing with such a thin lace, so I took things really slowly.
The white fabric is a mystery one, but it’s scuba-ish like.

Because of the difference in fabric weights, I thought it would be safer to gather and attach the sleeve parts flat.

Both fabrics were purchased at a fabric fair (Stoffen Spektakel).
It’s so fun to see who changing fabrics you change the whole vibe of a piece, isn’t it?