...make a fabulous dress!
I've been having an obsession with lemon print dresses for a while. It began when I saw Handmade Jane's wonderful, wonderful dress. I searched all over the Internets for a similar fabric, but I guess it wasn't meant to be because I didn't find it.
Then Dolce & Gabbana launched their Sicilian inspired SS16 collection with all the amazing lemon prints. And my search on the Internets started again. Again, it wasn't meant to be.
Photo credit: The Internet
And then in April of this year I went to Australia to visit a friend and while there Kath of Bernie and I posted a photo of a lovely lemon print fabric on Instagram. I was quick to ask where it was from and imagine my delight when Kath replied that it was from Spotlight! My delight, because at that very moment I was a 10 min walk from a Spotlight store, on the other side of the world! If that wasn't meant to be, I don't know what is!
(Can we also take a second to acknowledge how amazing fabric shopping is in Sydney? I came back to the UK and was obsessed with the idea of moving. Even made inquiries at work about whether our company has an office in Sydney.)
I got my 2 meters (which by the way was so stupid, I should have bought the whole roll!) and came home. Washed it, ironed it, admired it. And didn't know what to make! I wanted to make all the things! A 1950s style circle skirt. To wear with little cropped tops. A pair of high waisted shorts. A playsuit.
I spent so much time deciding what to do with this fabric you would have been forgiven for thinking I was naming my first born.
In the end I decided on the By Hand London Kim dress and I have no regrets. I toiled the bodice to check the fit and only had to take out a few cm at the back. I made no other alterations to the bodice. But when I got to the skirt I didn't know what to do. You see, the fabric I bought was cotton drill. A bit too heavy for either of the skirts in the pattern.
After umm-ing and ahh-ing and asking the sewing goddesses of Instagram I finally decided on a circle skirt. Only to realise...I didn't have enough fabric! See above parenthesis about how I should have bought the whole roll.
So I compromised and cut a half circle skirt. I wanted it to be just below the knees, 1950s style, but had to compromise there too, and cut it just above the knee. I finished the hem with my favourite technique for curved hems, bias binding. I've got so much love for bias binding, I might just dedicate a future blog post to it.
So in the end...I love it! This dress is every bit as perfect as I wanted it, if I may say so myself. Even the invisible zipper went in invisibly!
On a warm and sunny July evening it was the perfect outfit for a chilled glass of wine at the pub with my man.
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