I made this dress for Erin as another confidence booster. Japanese pattern books are perfect for that purpose for me because the biggest challenge is following through; the construction is not difficult. Erin picked up this cotton lawn and one evening before we went to see The Dirty Projectors she flipped through my pattern books and selected dress J from Stylish Dress Book 2. The dress features an empire waist and five buttons down the bodice.
I made it shorter (I actually used the skirt pieces meant for dress M) and gathered the skirt. The original pattern calls for six pleats in the front and six in the back, but after seeing the new Steven Alan Soma dress for fall (the purple paisley in particular -- it is gorgeous!), I have fallen hard for gathered skirts.
I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I love how summery the print is, I love that it looks like a little girl's dress, and I loved adding fabric-covered buttons. After I had cut out the pieces and quickly basted them together, I took the dress by Erin's shop and she tried it on to make sure it would fit. I just know the finished dress is going to look so cute on her!
See? Confidence!
Since today is a holiday I intend to be super productive and tackle all those things I have been meaning to tackle for months: wallpapering a wall, making a skirt, an embroidery piece. Wish me luck.
WOW! Congrats on the dress!!!! Beautiful!!! I love the fabric!!!
ReplyDeleteWoo! Another beautiful dress! I can't wait to see it on Erin. Such a talented lady you are.
ReplyDeletewell, that's quite a dress. i love the covered buttons. and the fabric. what a lucky girl Erin is!
ReplyDeleteoh wow, this dress is amazing!
ReplyDeletei just saw the soma dress in a shop and fell in love all over again. gathered skirts are the best!
ReplyDeletei'd love to see how the dress looks worn. such a fun cheerful print. i'm glad you're sewing new things!
oh my gosh, I too saw that Steven Alan dress in a shop and fell madly in love.
ReplyDeleteI love your dress too!! looks so perfect!
you are seriously talented lady. xx
ReplyDeleteThe dress is darling! Will you post a pic of Erin wearing it? Also, I've been wanting to wallpaper a wall too but have been a bit scared to attempt it, hope yours goes smoothly :-)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I especially love the covered buttons!
ReplyDelete(Oh, I'm quite intrigued by this Japanese pattern book. Is it in Japanese only and how difficult are the patterns?)
ReplyDeleteYay confidence! That dress is too adorable!! Lots of luck♥
ReplyDeleteLovely... and what a fab fabric! Very jealous :)
ReplyDeleteLove this dress Anabela!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you've chosen for the wallpaper. I adore what you've shared of your apartment so far!
beautiful! glad you're getting your confidence back--you have every reason to!
ReplyDeleteOMGGGGGGG I am so excited to try this on! I'll be wearing it every day, I know it. You might have to trick me into taking a photo for your blog, though... you know I hate having my picture taken!
ReplyDeleteOh hey, thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteCatherine: Thank you! Erin picked out the fabric -- it's not like any I've sewn with before, which I love!
Erica: Just a few days now!
Nath: Thank you! I was going to pick out cute buttons but covering them is so fun.
Kate: Thanks!
Erica: Thank you! It's so beautiful, isn't it? I think silk makes everything that much more lovely, as well.
Alyson: Thanks! I wish it wasn't nearly one week's pay! Haha.
Kerri: Aw, thank you. Blushing!
Lois: Thank you! I'm going to try to get a picture! Haha, she'll hate me for it!
Parapluie: Thank you! The patterns are only in Japanese, yes, but they have detailed drawings. The hardest part is tracing the patterns as they are overlaid overtop each other on the paper, and you have to remember to add seam allowance. If you've been sewing for a while you'll be fine!
Jessica: Thank you! That luck came in useful!
Zoe: I'm glad you like the fabric!
Jane: Thank you! I'm glad you like the wallpaper, too!
Erin: Aw, thanks!
Erin: YAY!
gah, i am soo jealous
ReplyDeletegive yourself a HUGE pat on teh back super talented lady!
ReplyDeletei love this dress and the fabric too! and your wallpaper is killing me. gah! it's all so cute.
ReplyDeleteLOVE LOVE LOVE the fabric of that dress.
ReplyDeletep.s. I had the dress hanging in my doorway and pointed it out to my roommate and she's like, "yeah I love that dress, haven't you had it forever?"... she had some weird deja vu about it and swears she's seen it on me before!? MEANT TO BE!
ReplyDeleteThat is stunning! I've been wanting to sew my first dress this summer, but I'm so intimidated!
ReplyDeletewhat a gorgeous dress. It makes me want to go out and buy that pattern book stat, even though I have no sewing knowledge whatsoever -
ReplyDeleteA.
I love the fabric!
ReplyDeletemakes me happy!
very cool blog too.
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