I bought 1.5 m of Saxby (colourway B) Liberty Linford Fleece from the Workroom back in the middle of winter here and because it took a little while to come all the way from Canada, once it arrived, I had moved onto Spring sewing. Funnily enough with temperatures in the mid to late 30's on Friday, I became 'winter inspired' again and decided my next project was going to be to cut into my precious fleece. It's not all madness as we are off to France for 6 weeks in December, so my mind has turned momentarily to what I should make/pack for the trip and today the temperature plummeted so it was perfect weather to sew up a cosy outfit.
This is my first ever piece of Liberty Linford Fleece and it feels so snuggly. Oh so cosy! The print is Saxby and is from the Liberty Art Fabrics Collection AW 14. The design was inspired by the decorative bird life at Mount Stuart in Scotland, in particular the parrots in the drawing room. To design the print, the birds were painted onto canvas in a loose, free style, and then merged to create a rich feather texture.
When I bought this piece I really didn't know what I was going to do with it. I don't really sew that much in fleece (although I also have another piece of Liberty Linford Fleece so watch this space!), but inspiration struck and I've sewn up a dress. I probably could have just sewn it up as a Coco, but instead I pulled out my hacked Kanerva I used to make my frocktails dress and used that as the base. It is a medium/heavyweight with no significant stretch so I sewed it up with the darts and everything.
I added navy ribbing to the neck and wrists, to make it even more snuggly. I worried that maybe it made it too sporty? but I kind of like it. There isn't really anything else to say about the construction, other than I added vilene bias tape to the hem for stability which worked a treat and then I double stitched it. I haven't top stitched the neck down but I'll see if it needs it.
Will it get packed in my suitcase for France? It might. It's snuggly, warm and comfortable and goes with my boots!
