At the end of the week we're setting off on our winter holiday to Tenerife and I'm really looking forward to some warm sunshine.
We've been to this Canary island several times before and each time I have bought myself a couple of sarongs from the weekly market at Adeje, with the intention of making a summer dress. I already have four and when I found another untouched sarong in my drawer I decided it was time to make another one.
I copied the design from another dress that's cut on the bias which gives a lovely drape and fit and set to making this dress. The fabric is a synthetic of some sort that's very light and uncrushable which is perfect for packing. Sorry but I can't seem to turn the photo!
Here is a drawing from one of my holiday sketchbooks showing a lovely long dress that's very comfortable that used two sarongs with enough left over for a scarf.
In a previous year I bought two different coloured pieces and even planned the layout to make the most of the limited length of the sarong.
It was quite a challenge to get a frock out of barely 2 square metres of fabric and I sometimes had to add a different lining to the bodice to complete the garment.
I'm always on the lookout for pretty fabrics and when I found this scarf at the local Red Cross shop for only 50 centimes I just had to buy it! As you can see it's quite large so I had plenty to play with.
After the success of the blue dress pattern I thought it might work well for a summer top so I used the contrast hem to make the pointed front and cut it all on the bias again.
A friend recently gave me a sarong that she didn't want when she was packing up to leave the country and thought it might suit me being my favourite colour. I managed to make a shirt out of this one with three-quarter sleeves that perfectly match my summer trousers. Isn't it handy when everything co-ordinates!
Well that's it for now, hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my holiday preparations, see you in April with some sketches from the trip.
A bientot!
