Green Mushroom Dress

This was my quick project challenge. I managed to finish it in under one week, even though I had some doubts when sewing the dress and I had to do additional adjustments, mainly on the side seams.

I have chosen my false Colette Peony dress pattern – drafted by myself but inspired by Colette. I have already sewn it in wool for winter, so this is my silk summer version. The silk is somehow strange, I bought it because I liked the color and the little flower pattern, which seen from a distance look more like little mushrooms. At some point of time I was not even sure it was silk, but a burn test went out OK.

I do not think there is much to say about this dress: I am becoming a big fan of French seams, they just gve such a nice and smooth finish on the silk (did you know they are called “English seams” in French?) and I also lined the bodice with the self-fabric.

And the baby hem done on a machine accelerates the job!

The invisible zip on the back, being really invisible, I am getting really good in this :o)

And yes, I did not bother with pattern matching, I just made sure all the pattern pieces are correctly aligned (there is a diagonal pattern on the green background which was necessary to respect).

Inspiration: Colette Peony dress

Pattern: drafted by myself

Pattern changes: none

Technique: silk sewing

Fabric: green silk

Time to Complete: under one week

Total Cost: 18 EUR

White Eyelet Dress

Another dress from my summer series.

I bought this eyelet cotton fabric last year and absolutely wanted a summer dress from it then. Unfortunately, what is not done before my vacation in August, will never be made. Thus, my dreamed eyelet dress got only sewn this June.

The big challenge was certainly the transparency of the fabric. By principle, I do not like transparent clothes, as you always have to be careful where you take them and I wanted my white dress to be wearable to the office, as well. In addition, the eyelets in my fabric are really big :o)

So I decided to underline it with a silk mousseline, which is not exactly white, but more ivory but feels great against the skin.

Also, I used the underlining as binding of all seams: basically I have sewn the underlinings to all the pattern pieces before assembling it. The advantage is that sewing the dress was then really quick and smooth.

The pattern is 126-05/2013 from Burda. Nothing complicated but I like the simplicity of the lines (the original model is also in white). Seeing the dress finished, the skirt might have been a little bit narrower, mostly in the back, but this is a casual summer dress in the end which got a lot of wear during our travel week-ends, so I will keep it like that.

The dress bodice and skirt features pleat instead of darts which is a nice change from what I usually sew and wear. What I also like with the pattern is the high-cut neckline which means I do not risk getting a sunburn when I forget to put on sunscreen.

On the other hand it is large enough and comfortable to survive a day in the car.

I finished the neckline, as well as the armscyes with bias binding made from silk underlining. No fuss with sleeves this time, yay!

Finally, a few pictures of the dress being worn: sorry for the shades on my face, the pics were taken at noon, actually not the best idea.

Inspiration: Burda

Pattern: Burda 126-05/2013

Pattern changes: bodice shortening

Technique: underlining

Fabric: white eyelet “Madeira” dress

Time to Complete: a week

Total Cost: 25 EUR

Anna by Hand London – second (and the best) try

I have been sewing like crazy since May, and posting almost nothing on the blog. It is partially due to my BF photo strike, but partially by missing texts, as my free time is completely consumed by sewing.

And ok, I admit it, I have fallen down the Anna dress rabbit hole.

So I have made a second Anna dress. And probably the best one. The fabric is colorful crepe de chine which was just great for sewing and is very comfortable for wearing. I had already tested the pattern on the blue cotton, so no surprises expected and the dress just came out right. Should I say more?

The bodice is self-lined, no lining was necessary on the skirt.

I have finished it about a month ago and it got a lot of wear during the hot summer beginning we are just having.

No further modifications done, compared to the blue cotton one, apart from the fact that I cut out the back skirt 2,5cm shorter than I should have. I had to adjust the whole skirt which in the end is slightly shorter than I would like to, but that is fine for me. It is a summer dress.

Inspiration: motivation by my first Anna dress success

Pattern: Anna dress By Hand London

Pattern changes: shortened bodice

Technique: none

Fabric: coloured crepe de chine

Time to Complete: a week

Total Cost: 29 EUR