Simplicity 5075 - A Duster from Elliot Berman Fabric

One of the things preparing to attend the Baltimore Destash did, was it made me look at my pattern collection.  Like many of you, I have a lot of patterns.  However, in the collecting of sewing items, patterns are not my nemesis - fabric is! 

Lately I'm not purchasing as many patterns as I use to...partly because I use so many TNT patterns and partly because I own a lot of older unused patterns.  Sifting through them for the Destash caused me to touch almost all of them and I found some oldies but goodies that will be making their way to my wardrobe and the blog.

Simplicity 5075 is one of them.  It's a Khaliah Ali pattern from her partnership with Simplicity.  If you were sewing then, you know she helped design this amazing collection and these patterns went from a size 8/10 to 28/32W.  It was one of the first pattern lines that gave plus size women current and trendy patterns in our sizes. It was literally an earth-shattering moment in the Big4 and I collected quite a few of them.  BTW, none of the Khaliah Ali patterns made it into the Destash giveaway...some things need to be held onto y'know what I mean!

So all of that to say, that even though I have two or three current kimono/duster patterns, I went with this out of print pattern. This pattern can still be found online with a simple google search so if you like my version, there are patterns out there to be purchased.

Next - the fabric used in this project is from Elliot Berman and is part of my brand ambassadorship with them.  The last time I was in EB's NYC warehouse, I spotted this navy voile and loved it.  However, at the time, it was too cold to sew it. Plus I knew I would use it for summer.

The thing I love about Elliot Berman is the vastness of their collection AND how interesting the fabrics are - nothing dull or pedantric here.  So if you want to see their online selection of cotton voiles look here.  

I need to apologize now because there are alot of photos in this post. I wanted someplace nice to show off how awesome this duster is and how the fabric was THE PERFECT CHOICE for this pattern. My daughter chose the Douglas campus of Rutgers University. These are taken at the Student Union Building.

Supply List ~
3 yards of a cotton voile from Elliot Berman
gray foldover bias tape - Wrights
1 yard of piping from Joyce Trimmings that I used for the ties

Construction ~
This pattern has 4 pieces and was easy to construct. I made no alterations to the pattern and cut a straight 26W because I wanted a little more flow to the body. The one change I should have made to the pattern was to raise the bust seam up. Also making a straight 26 was a little bigger in the bust area than I am, using the size 24 would have probably worked better. You have to really look for this because the print hides alot. If I had made this in a solid it would have been more noticeable.

After wearing it for a couple of hours, the flowy sleeves is one of the things I like best about the pattern. Now this pattern is pretty distinctive and I do have a few other kimono patterns in the stash I still want to use, so I don't know if I will be making the pattern again.

A Few More Pictures ~ 

A Little More Info ~
I'm wearing this duster with a RTW tank that's been in my wardrobe for years and a new pair of pants from my TNT pattern. I've made a few alterations to the pants pattern and those alterations will be discussed in an upcoming post.

The pants are made from a navy linen/poly blend fabric. This fabric is from deep stash so I have no idea where it came from because the tag wasn't on this 4 yard piece. I know it's old because I haven't purchased a linen blend like this in over a decade.

I've made no changes to this pair other than the alterations mentioned above.  That's what's so good about using a TNT pattern...a new garment without a lot of angst!  I love that I'm wearing two made by me pieces together.  This doesn't happen often anymore so it makes me very happy.

Conclusion ~
This outfit is sooooooo me! I can see me wearing it in all aspects of my life. To work, to hang out with friends...with my wedges pictured above...with my sneaks and even with a pair of heels. I love this outfit so much!!! So please excuse me for spamming this post with so many photos but my Daughter took so many amazing ones.

Finally, definitely try out some of these high quality cotton voiles from Elliot Berman. You can follow them on Instagram to see photos of their stock and behind the scenes of the showroom. Or you can follow them on Facebook where they offer giveaways and Deals of the Day/Weekend!  Also if you're ever in NYC visiting the garment district, don't leave without going by their showroom and touching the amazing fabric in person. You won't be sorry that you visited them!


...as always more later!