Saturday 30 January 2016

Pansy Print Shift Dess

I'm actually dreading putting these pictures up, mainly because I was too lazy to do my hair [Which seriously needs cutting] or retouch my make up or put on lipstick so I know for a fact I look ill, which means my mother will probably see the pictures and decide I am ill and need to rest more....and she'll probably want to feed me broth... which isn't always a bad thing.

Put yes I'm not sick , I just always look this unhealthy!

Now onto the dress, I won the pansy fabric over at a stitching odyssey in a give-away Marie was running and I believe she got it from Miss Gingers. I got 1m of the print  in cotton and although its a lil crazy I kinda love it, my mum suggested I make a skirt but I loved the idea of a 90's style shift dress, something I could dress up with heels or down with boots and a cardi. Being stubborn I went my own way however I didn't have quite enough material hence the colour blocking.


The pink sections came from an old dress lining, its a similar weight to the pansy print and the colours work well together so its a winner for me. The bodice is a princess seam so having both the front and back in pink and the sides in pansy looks pretty cool...to me at least!


Pattern wise I kept it simple and used the shift dress pattern from the second gbsb book. There's really nothing else I can say about the pattern as I've made it here and here and used the bodice here . I did shorten the skirt on this one quite a bit more though to keep a young vibe. The best way I find to shorten dresses that I want right on the cusp of decency is to lay them next to a rtw dress your happy with the length of and work off that as a guide. No more flashing my knickers for me!


Construction wise I just finished my seams with another row of stitching and I faced the armholes and neckline with the pansy print fabric. And then very neatly topstitched. Like a Boss! The hem is hand sewn because eek hand finished hems and basically looks like it was done by faeries! 


I did a lapped zip at the back, its not my neatest work but I'd already ripped it out once and I wasn't in the mood for another go. Luckily for me my hair is that long now that it covers any zip issues!


Heres a better shot of my colour blocking, As you can see I didn't bother pattern matching but now i look at it, I might have used the print the wrong way up. woopsie.


It didn't take a huge amount of time to make, I think about two episodes of the sopranos and half an episode to stitch the hem? In fact the longest part was trying to work out if I actually had enough material. 

And that's it! Yay!

Its a half recycled, half free, kinda crazy shift dress but I love it! Its completely out of my comfort zone but I can still see it getting a lot of wear!

Much Love

Frankie 

x

7 comments:

  1. I love it it's fabulous it looks amazing on you. Hey no knocking Momma bear when she's trying to look after you even when your all grown up, be glad she cares enough. As for broth you can have some whenever I make it I always make too much for me and Dad. Dress awesome you look fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I desperately need you to make me one like this!!! It's beautiful!! :) and we all know my ponchant for some crackers patterns :) xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha ill have to see if i can find a similar fabric, loves a good pattern does kal! x

      Delete
    2. Hmm maybe a shopping trip to Abakan :) xx

      Delete
  3. Looks super, love the pansy fabric X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thankyou i was worried about the pansies at first but i love them now x

      Delete

Go On Make Me Smile And Leave Me A Comment!
You can also reach me at knitwitsowls@gmail.com!
x