It is a beautiful autumnal floral printed linen which has a lovely weight and drape to it. I paired it with a shocking pink silk lining that has been in my stash since my textile student days in the 1990's!
I sewed the outer shell and lining of the dress using the sewing machine but most of the final finish was completed by hand.
Here are some close up shots of the dress in construction including a nifty way to finish a dress or top without the need to make a fiddly rouleau loop. The black loop is an elastic hair-band cut in half and I added a square of felt to reinforce where the button is sewn into position.
The 'rouleau' loop just needs to be fixed into position between the seams. I hand-stitched through the knot to make sure it was very secure - if you are a fan of machine stitching I would slow down the speed to make sure it manages to go over the lump of the knot.
I chose to hand embroider the neckline with some embroidery floss from my stash. (I selected the 4th from the right). As I decided to line the dress from the start I eliminated the facings of the original pattern and sewed the lining to the neckline and hand-stitched it to the arm sythe. Aside from the aesthetic appeal of hand-embroidery the main reason I embroidered the neckline was to stop the lining from showing and to fix the outer-shell and lining from shifting and moving around.
Pattern: Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress on 50% off sale (2nd version) = £3.50
Fabric: 1.5 metres of printed linen mix from Sew Over It = £17.00
Lining: 1 metre of silk lining from stash = free
Gutterman Thread: Black and pink from stash = free
Embroidery Thread: Dusky pink 03350 = free
Hairband: From stash = free
Button: From stash = free
Total: £20.50
Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.
What a lovely fabric :) Great tips on the button and loop, would never have thought of either!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex. The button and loop have been holding up well today!
DeleteThis is gorgeous Caroline! and so beautifully made as well! I love the hand-embroidery, and the pink lining.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathryn. I'm looking forward to wearing it!
DeleteWow, the bright pink lining looks great, love the hand stitching. Also love the hair elastic - practical and way quicker than a rouleau loop.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tess. Yes the hairband-roueau loop is a lot quicker to do!
DeleteI love the effort and fall of a lined dress. Looks fab. Jo x
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. Yes, the last two dresses I have made I decided to add lining - it seems to elevate them to a higher status with not much extra effort.
DeleteLove the fabric and looks good on you, well done
ReplyDeleteThanks Carolee.
DeleteLooks beautiful, I agree the pink lining is a great touch:) #handmademonday
ReplyDeleteThanks Vicky. It was nice to use that shocking pink silk after a 20+ year hiatus in my stash!
DeleteLooks lovely! I do the same thing with an elastic hair band and because they come in so many colours they're easy to match.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer, maybe I should buy myself some coloured hairbands just to have in stock!
DeleteOooo, this is lovely! The bright lining is just perfect and I love the stitching round the neck. Such a great dress.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie, I really enjoyed making it.
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