Completed Japanese Sewalong 2-Piece Set

完成した２ピースセット。紅葉と菊を夏に着る。季節感全くなし。

Here is my completed Japanese Sewalong 2-piece set.

Summary:
The fabric is a mid-weight cotton with some horizontal ribbing texture that I bought in Japan, that was taken back to the U.S. and came with me to the U.K. It is soft, but does not have good drape so I chose a pattern that is structured than flowy.

The pattern is from a Japanese sewing book by Machiko Kayaki, Simple Chic Dress Up Dress Down, and it's the #8 pattern.

For the top, I cut a size 11, lengthened the hem by 2 1/2", narrowed the shoulder by pivoting the shoulder strap inward towards center back. I still had gaping around the front neck so I pinched a bit at neck and removed some length by inserting a dead dart, which was then removed from the pattern.

The original pattern calls for back button closure all the way down the center back, but I changed it to an invisible zip closure.

The original pattern came with all-in-one facing. Because of my shoulder alteration, the facing pattern did not match so I just free-handed the facing pattern., then added a lining below it. The lining is a cotton poplin.

The skirt is a basic, pleated skirt with a bit of top stitching at the pleat. I cut a size 11, shortened so that the length is 20". The pattern wasn't lined so I lined it with the same black poplin I used for the top.

I let out a bit to accommodate my expanding waist line but now it's a bit loose. Note to myself: stick with size 11.

Although I added a back contouring at the center back so the pattern doesn't match all the way, I was so happy to see how the top of the center back where the seam is vertical made the perfect pattern match (see the flowers between the paws).