Tuesday, July 7, 2009

A Sundress for Tamara

I've been making this same sundress for my daughter since 1995!!.



Last summer I told her I was retiring the pattern and we'd have to find her a new favorite.

Well, as I was leafing through the Vogue patterns catalogue at work one day during my lunch break, I came upon this.I was astounded to see that the dress was exactly like the very old Butterick that my daughter has always loved, but of course in a shorter version. So I made her this.



The fabric is a border print cotton with payettes sewed onto the design and I only had 1.2 meters because it was a remnant piece that I picked up at Fabricville.



In spite of the limited yardage, I still managed to get both a dress and a little shrug out of it. It wasn't easy.I faced the bodice with cotton voile.



For the shrug I used Butterick4396 and had to conform it to the fabric I had left.I had to not only split the sleevee but separate them and rejoin them with fabric strips. I think this added a fun design element and Tamara liked it.





Even though Tamara was home for over a week, I couldn't persuade her to have a photo taken. You see, we've had three weeks of bad hair weather! LOL! She is on her way back to Ottawa as I write this .
We did manage to go to Fabricville together and she chose some patterns and fabrics that she liked. I'll wait for the 3/1 sale to buy a few pieces for her. Stay tuned for this dress in the near future.

17 comments:

Auset's Stitched Treasures said...

Love it. Your design ideas are truly inspiring.
Angela

Julia said...

Wonderful!!! I love the fabric and the sleeves on the shrug are ingenious,

Anonymous said...

Great dress!! And the bolero- you are sooo creative! The split arms with those strips is such a good design feature. Lucky daughter you got!

Shannon said...

What a great outfit! Love the creativity on the shrug!

Ann Made Studio said...

"Love" the dress. The fabric is just so pretty and the sleeve design is brilliant :) It is a very smart looking outfit.
We are shoulder high in boxes :}
The big day is soon approaching and I am so very anxious. When do you work next?

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I love the fact that you can sew for your daughter!!! And what a wonderful dress it is...great idea for the sleeves...I might steal that idea too!

Sharon said...

Wonderful dress and bolero, the split sleeves have given us all a design idea to borrow.

gwensews said...

Beautiful dress. I love that fabric--wow! And, it's in my autumn colors! Lori of Girls in the Garden just posted that Vogue dress pattern, and it is a pretty dress also.

Tee said...

Great design element on the sleeves!

Michelle said...

That dress looks fantastic. The simple style is a perfect pairing with the fabric. Very pretty!!

Linda T said...

That dress is fabulous! Your use of the fabric design is so fantastic. I love it!

Gail said...

Dianna, You have excelled! I love the way you used the fabric in this dress. Your daughter will be thrilled.

Chris said...

Beautiful dress, gorgeous fabric! Love your innovative reworking of the bolero, very nice detail.

Trudy said...

Such a gorgeous sundress.

I love your blog.

Come and see what's new at my blog at www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

You can also check my 8 year old daughter's sewing blog at www.sewingsister.blogspot.com

Trudy said...

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Look forward to having you come back.

www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

Nan said...

Absolutley love your style. Beautiful sundress, I especially like the sleeves of the shrug.
I am getting back into sewing after years away from it and you are providing so much inspiration.
Thank you for sharing.

Tany said...

That's BEAUTIFUL and that fabric is TDF! Your DD must be thrilled!