Sunday, December 28, 2014

Last dress of 2014


I made this dress to wear on Christmas Day. We normally have Christmas Day at the in-laws', but this year we hosted it at our house and I wanted to make a dress for the occasion. I toyed with the idea of making one in Xmas fabric but didn't really want to spend hours on something that I could only wear once a year.



I've had this light cotton print in my stash for at least 4 years. I'm not sure of the exact fabric type. Pale yellow is not a colour I'd normally wear, but I thought it was very sweet and summery- perfect for our usual 30+ degree Xmas temperatures (which, thankfully, it didn't even get close to this year!).



For the bodice, I used the Lisette Round Trip dress as my block, and modified the neck. I used my favourite, oh so simple skirt- slightly more than A-line, but not quite circular.




Putting this dress together was an absolute breeze. I lined the bodice with an old fitted sheet and left the skirt unlined- I can wear a petticoat underneath for modesty if I need to, but I don't think it needs it. 




The fit is not perfect. There are a few wrinkles, especially on the back which I noticed after looking at the photos. But you know what? I really don't care! Is there really such a thing as the 'perfect' fit, anyway? Surely the more advanced our skills become, the further and more unattainable is our idea of perfection?



This is my last dress of the year and I love it!



Monday, December 1, 2014

Christmas sewing: Festive dress

I wasn't going to make Elizabeth a Christmas dress this year as I made her one last year and I generally try to make clothing last as long as possible. But I realised I have had this Christmassy Michael Miller fabric in my stash for 4 years and if I left it any longer, I wouldn't be able to make anything to fit my girl as she won't be tiny forever.



I laid out 3 different patterns before I found one that would work- being a directional print, my options were severely limited by the one-metre cut of fabric. I had to settle on a pillowcase dress, just like the one I made last year. I added 6" to the length because Elizabeth has grown heaps this year. The print is festive, but not too festive...she can get away with wearing it during the year and not just at Christmas time.



I added a little yoyo detail with a vintage button given to me by one of my students.