Dixie DIY Ballet Dress in Pelorous Ponti

Do you read Marie's blog - A Stitching Odyssey? It is one of my favourites. Marie is extremely gorgeous and makes such lovely clothes. Recently she made the Dixie DIY Ballet Dress - a very simple dress intended for knits.

I had not heard of Dixie DIY before, but I loved Marie's floral version and had been looking for a simple long-sleeved dress to make with the 2m of ponti called 'Pelorous Ponti' I bought in Sydney from Tessuti (I couldn't find it on their website).

I made the size small, and made the following adjustments:

1. Lengthened the bodice by 7cm. I muslined the bodice only and found that it ended only just below my bust - without taking out the seam allowance to join it to the skirt. I don't think it would have been a good look! 
2. Lengthened the skirt by about 3cm. 
3. Took the sleeves in by 5cm in total. They were unusually baggy, and I wanted them to be more streamlined. 
4. Added a belt. I think it needs it to break it up. 

I love this dress. At first I worried it was a bit too firm-fitting and showed every lump and bump, but I changed my bra about fifty times and finally was happy with how all the bumps were contained.

I had a bit of fun with taking photos - it is a ballet dress after all!

I'm so graceful. Especially in knee-high boots.

Little M decided to get in on the fun - she does love a good twirl and a boogie.

Check out that air!

I'm off to take the kid for a spin on her new balance bike - pretty windy in Melbourne today - definitely reminding me to get started on some winter sewing!

Lace Laurel: My Sewcie Tea Dress

Quite some time ago I bought a remnant of blue lace from Tessuti. It had been sitting in my stash, as I didn't really know what to do with it. And then Melanie announced that Sewcie Tea was taking place! A high tea event with sewers - what a perfect opportunity to wear my blue lace!

I ummed and ahhed over which pattern to use. I had visions of a fitted bodice with a circle skirt, but the reality was that I didn't have that much fabric. I was also really reluctant to have the hem of a circle skirt show through, as I knew I wouldn't be able to use the selvedge.

Then Colette Patterns released Laurel - a shift dress. It was a pattern-fabric match made in heaven. The bonus is also that I know I will get a lot of wear out of this lacy dress.

I made the underlined version. I used anti-static lining from Tessuti in a antique-y silver colour. I found choosing the lining colour very difficult - thank you to Bree from Tessuti for helping.

I made a muslin and made the following alterations:

• I made a size 8 at the shoulders and in the sleeves and a size 6 every where else. Maybe a size 4 through the waist - I had to take it in quite a bit there, but I did it on the dress rather than on the pattern, so I don't have an accurate record of the sizing in each part. 
• I also had to take 6cm out of the neck at the back. I did this by taking 1cm out each side of the zip, and then folding the rest out above the back dart by creating a small dart (I don't actually have a neck dart on the dress, I just folded it out like a dart). I had to slash the back dart up a little (essentially making it a wee bit longer) to get the pattern piece to sit correctly. 

I wore it with my wedding shoes and jewellery. My shoes almost cost as much as my wedding dress (!) - they are Guiseppe Zanotti shoes and are divine. I bought them at Jean Brown in Brisbane over 5 years ago now! My jewellery was made by a local Brisbane designer, Chelsea De Luca (I believe she has a website), and are fabulous art deco pieces. I love being able to wear them again.

Sewcie Tea was fabulous. Here are a few pictures I 'borrowed' from sewbrunswick.blogspot.com and Melanie:

All 26 of us - didn't we look fine!

Lara (thornberry), Anna (blogless Anna), me, Leith (Sew Brunswick)

Our table - what a gorgeous bunch! 

Mingling - me, Kat, Lizzy, Rachel

All the details of yesterday are on Melanie's blog - thank you to Melanie for organising such a wonderful afternoon - I had a blast, and I know everyone else did too! 

Rebecca Taylor for Vogue 1344 - A Flouncy Little Frock

I decided to branch out recently and get some patterns that were slightly different to my usual style. Maybe I was feeling a little thoughtful, like the model of the pattern of my new frock - Vogue 1344, by Rebecca Taylor?

Isn't that pose just hilarious?

Anyway, you can't really see it in the above photo, but this a dress with a front flounce, elasticised waist, cross-over bodice and contrast sleeve cuffs.

I made it in a Liberty Tana Lawn, with cotton voile from Tessuti. It is lined in black silk-cotton, also from Tessuti.

It is probably a bit late in the season to be making a cotton frock, but I had intended to wear this to Little M's second birthday party on the 13th April. Michael convinced me it is probably going to be a little too cool for it, so it is getting worn now.

The pattern comes together well. I cut a straight size 12 and did nothing to it. Not even lengthen it. The only gripe I have with it is that I have to safety-pin the bodice closed - it is an absolute cleavage fest if I don't. I made the belt to go with it - used the same voile as the sleeve cuffs and simply interfaced it heavily. It closes with two hooks and eyes. I thought it looked a bit weird without the black belt to tie it all in together.

Look at that flounce flying around in the wind.

I really recommend this pattern - it is simple enough to sew, and doesn't require fitting given its elasticised nature. You definitely need to use a light fabric though - think lawn, voile or silk. There are a lot of tucks/pleats in the bodice and the flounce needs to be soft and light to drape properly.

So, there we have it. A cute little frock to end Melbourne's hot weather on. I am now working like a gun to finish my Sewcie Tea dress and a dress to wear to Little M's party. Luckily I finished Little M's dress and leggings a while back.

Tessuti Gridlock Sewing Competition Entry

Have everyone been watching the entries for the Tessuti Gridlock Sewing Competition pop up all over the place? There are some mighty fine creations out there. I have thrown my hat in the ring too - there is $1000 at stake! Think of all the fabric you could buy with $1000!

For this competition you have to use the fabric 'Gridlock' from Tessuti. It is a jacquard, and I must admit I wasn't sure what to make. In the end, I chose the Merchant and Mills Panel Dress Pattern. I thought something simple with pattern pieces that might allow me to use both sides of the fabric might do the trick. 

I hadn't used a Merchant and Mills pattern before so I muslined it. I think this was necessary as the Merchant and Mills patterns are not multi-sized. You pick your size and hold your breath and hope for the best. I chose the size 12 and it didn't require too many alterations.  

The pattern is pretty amazing. It comes printed on card with all the holes punched out already (i.e., for your darts and all the notches). It comes rolled in the cylinder and also has a hook to hang the pattern pieces from (they now live hanging on my wall in my sewing room.). Pretty cool huh? 

Here are the alterations I made:

• I added a back vent. 
• I lowered the neckline by 1.5cm.
• I took in the CF by 3cm in total.
• I took in the CB at the top by 2cm. 

I had a lot of fun deciding which side of the fabric to do each panel - here is what I came up with:

I decided to underline the entire dress in blue silk/cotton lining from Tessuti. I hand basted it all together (it took me FOREVER):

And here is the dress!

I'm not going to lie - I'm not sure this colour is for me. Blogless Anna was over at my house a few weekends ago for a ladies' sewing arvo and she tried it on - I think I will be gifting this dress to her. Her colouring really really suited the lovely jacaranda blue of this dress.

Colour aside, I had so much fun making this dress. It really made me pay a lot of attention to finishing the dress, and I had to really think about what to make as jacquard is not a fabric I naturally gravitate to (I'm really a cotton and linen girl).

So that is my competition entry - what do you think? Make sure you check out the Pinterest page Tessuti are putting all the entries onto (look on the Tessuti blog for the link) - there are some really amazing garments popping up!