Monday, 9 January 2017

Midnight Flora Dress

Scattered all over the midnight blue fabric of my first home-sewn dress are tiny flowers, twigs, seedpods, mushrooms and leaves. Blue is my most favourite of colours and I love the sweet flora printed all over it. Very me!

My new "Midnight Flora" dress.

I chose the simple Quilting Bee Dress pattern from the book, Just for You - Selfish Sewing Projects from Your Favourite Sew Can She Bloggers:  24 Simply Stylish Projects by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield and Sarah Markos. I borrowed it from my local library and just traced the pieces (of which there are only two, that then go together to form just one pattern piece:) While simple, it still challenged me somewhat and thus, extended my almost-beginner sewing skills. I made a drawstring, practised buttonholes, made a simple casing and sewed co-ordinating bias trim. While learning all that, I managed to stick iron-on interfacing to my iron, sewed the casing on so it was inside out and had to unpick the bias trim around the neckline no less than three times. These were, of course, rookie errors and I know that next time I sew up this dress it will all be easier. I'll have done it before!

I am planning to sew another one of these dresses in a heavier fabric so as to make a tunic to wear with leggings for the cooler months. For Summer now though, I am very happy to have a new dress, in this beautiful Midnight Flora fabric I love, that fits and that I made myself.

Are you learning a new skill at the moment? What is it and how did you begin?

Meg


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12 comments:

  1. Cheryl9 January 2017 at 18:55

    Oh you clever girl!
    Love that fabric!
    I'm convinced we are soul sisters, I just adore blue, most of my clothes are varying shades of blue! I used to be a 'green goddess' but as I've got older I've moved to blues and browns/beige.

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    1. Meg10 January 2017 at 07:22

      I have flirted with other colours, Cheryl. Raspberry red, teal and peridot green but blue is always my favourite. I think it's such a peaceful colour; the colour of the wide sky, the waters off the beach, my husband's and my son's beautiful eyes, gorgeous ceylon sapphires and cornflowers too! Meg:)

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  2. Anonymous9 January 2017 at 19:29

    Well done Meg! Perseverance to the highest degree. I wonder how much chocolate it would have taken for me to finish the dress?

    It looks very professional and very you.

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    1. Meg10 January 2017 at 07:03

      There was chocolate involved, Lucy! Quite a few squares of it! Meg:)

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  3. Fiona Chain9 January 2017 at 20:42

    Hi Meg, good on you, darl! I love your new summer time dress, it's really sweet. I sew, but only straight lines on quilts. I have done a little dressmaking, but patterns always frustrate me, it's like they are written in another language. My darling mum was a beautiful dressmaker but I just didn't have the patience to learn from her when I was young. Sewing is a wonderful skill to have.
    Fi

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    1. Meg10 January 2017 at 07:06

      Thanks, Fiona. One of the reasons I chose this pattern, from this particular book, was because there were photos of how to do each stage of the dress. Thank goodness too because I don't think I'd have got the neckline on properly without them! Meg:)

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  4. Nanna Chel9 January 2017 at 21:54

    Good on you Meg. I have done the same thing with the iron on stuff. What a mess it makes. It is a good learning curve for you though as a beginner as you won't make those mistakes again. I don't want to learn too many things this year as I want to improve some skills I have which are basic although I do have a mosiac paver to make and have bought the tiles etc. Now I just have to do it. We are having another heatwave this week so I might just sit beside a fan all week or perhaps sit with the old people at a shopping centre and keep cool. LOL!

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    1. Meg10 January 2017 at 07:10

      Making a mosaic paver sounds like a lot of creative fun, Nanna Chel. Your are most right in saying that iron on interfacing made a big mess of my iron. The worst part was trying to get it off! We are expecting heatwave too this week and I'm not looking forward to it...I have a request for a very chocolaty birthday cake and I'm wondering how on earth I'll keep it from melting everywhere while I'm decorating it. Meg:)

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  5. Jembella Farm10 January 2017 at 19:42

    Oh Meg, it's lovely. Now we need to see you in it. :) X

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    1. Meg11 January 2017 at 09:10

      Thanks, Sally. I adore it probably because I actually made it! I've now started on a dark blue top. The fabric is printed with wispy dandelion clocks...definitely a botanical girl I am! Meg:)

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  6. Julie11 January 2017 at 09:24

    You can do a headless picture of you in it. Will have to look for that book from my library.

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    1. Meg11 January 2017 at 10:28

      The book had lots of simple patterns in it, Julie. Good for an almost beginner like me. Hmmm ... a headless photo?? Will see what I can do. A headless selfie maybe! Meg:)

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