Simplicity 2178

There was wind. There was rain. There was one very misbehaving shoulder petal. But fear not - photography conquered all!

I think this was the quickest project photo shoot I've ever done! We managed to scamper back to the car before the heavens properly opened, but it was such fun! Even if most of the outtakes feature me pulling various glaring faces at the shoulder petals as they decided to do their own thing, rather than sit nicely like they usually do on wind-free days. Ah, the things we do for our blogs, eh?

But enough of the photos - what about the dress? This pattern has been in my To Make list since it came out in 2011, but I never found the right fabric for the job. Then, as kismet would have it, I ordered 4m of cotton seersucker from Spotlight for a vintage dress, which I then decided against making. However this fabric practically followed me around the house, hissing at me that I needed to sew it into a fabulous frock and it needed to happen NOW, so I did what every sewist who believes that their fabric can speak to them would do, and paid heed. Simplicity 2178, meet the red seersucker!

I LOVE THIS DRESS! I'm really happy with how it turned out - it's not a pattern that seems to have been sewn up a lot, so I was a bit worried about how it would look once finished, but it came up great for me! It's not a pattern for a newbie sewist - there is a lot of work in it, with the usual Cynthia Rowley sewing additions that seems to make it a more involved project than would appear at first glance, but the end result has been worth the time it took.

The one part I was worried about was putting a zip next to the pocket, but it actually worked out quite well. Having a thin cotton to work with helped - I'm not sure a heavy fabric would turn out so well, and you would probably end up with a bulky zippered/pocketed side seam, so just beware.

The one change I made was not to do the hem facing - this was simply because I didn't fancy doing hand stitching, and figured with the seer sucker the hem wouldn't be super noticeable anyway.

All in all, this pattern was worth the wait. I mean, who can go past a red statement frock? Not I, that's for sure!

Enjoy the pics. Rain was braved for your viewing pleasure!

Project Details
Pattern: Simplicity 2178 by Cynthia Rowley, view A
Fabric: 3.5m red cotton seersucker from Spotlight
Notions: Interfacing, 35cm invisible zip

Vogue 9100 and vintage Simplicity 3470 mash up

Before we start, I would just like to say that no dresses were harmed, splashed with salt water or got flecked with sand during this shoot.

Ok, ok, maybe a little. But gee, wasn't it worth it for the fun and pure child-like delight of splashing about in the ocean in a fancy dress!

I say that this dress is a mash up, but what I really did was use the bodice from Vogue 9100, and then run with the concept of the skirt from Simplicity 3470. I wanted an insanely full skirt, so I made the skirt 3 metres wide before gathering, and made the frill 6 metres wide. When I was actually gathering all those miles of fabric together I did wonder if I had taken leave of my senses, especially since gathering fabric of one of my least favourite sewing jobs, but the end result was worth the sore fingers from pulling those gathering threads tighter and tighter. No pain, no gain!

Another change I made was to make the shoulder straps 2cm shorter on each side. I've made Vogue 9100 3 times now (see version one and version two), and the shoulders do tend to slip a little, so by shortening them I bypassed that wear issue.

All in all, I love this dress! It took a lot of work, as the lace was underlined (so each piece was underlined before I began sewing any pieces together), and then the dress itself was fully lined, but I'm glad I put the work in - this is going to be part of my forever wardrobe for sure!

Project Details:
Patterns - Vogue 9100 and vintage Simplicity 3470.
Fabric - Navy blue lace and cotton for both underlining and lining from The Fabric Store.
Notions - 35cm invisible zipper.

Simplicity 8594 and really bad rhymes galore

Summertime in the city,
And all I can think of is pretty dresses and Liberty.
So with no lack of perspicacity
I give pattern and fabric propinquity

Ok, Kanye's job is safe.
Which is a thought that really does chafe.
A good rhyme, sadly, I maketh not.
But a cute dress - yep, I hit the spot!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE (like a dove, from above) this dress!
It has all the elements a frock needs to address:
Cute neck?
Check!
Pockets?
It rocks it!
Fabric that's cute?
The point is moot!

Will I make it again?
GIVE ME AN AMEN!!!


Ok, ok, I gotta stop.
The rhyming mic, I really must drop.
But before you bombard me with your strictures
Sit back and enjoy the pictures!

Project Notes:
Pattern - Simplicity 8594, version C
Fabric - 1.8m of Liberty cotton print from GJ's Discount Fabrics
Notions - Interfacing, 50cm invisible zipper