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Tuesday 15 October 2013

The Hay Fever Dress - Project Sewn Week 3

Thanks a gah-zillion to everyone who voted for me last week on Project Sewn. I made it through to the next round!! Wah-to the-hoo!

For Week 3 the theme is 'Graphic Print' and here's my bright florally entry. Makes my nose itchy just looking at it! It's Spring in Australia and that means hay fever time. Goodbye jumpers and cardigans, hello tissues.

Once again, check out the fabulous entries and VOTE for your favourite!


I learnt something about myself with this challenge. I realised that even though I love prints and they are well represented in my gigantic fabric stash(es), I rarely actually sew with a print! Turns out when I go into a fabric store without a project in mind I buy up on prints, but when I go in with a pattern or a design in my head first, I lean towards solid colours. Curious-er and curious-er.


In fact, three quarters of my garments in my past projects are with solid colours. I need an intervention.


I loved this challenge for breaking me out of my design cycle and letting the design be inspired by the fabric first.

So here's the nitty gritty:

Pattern
I used the bodice of Vogue 8280 for this dress with some heavy modifications. You can check my original review of this pattern here to see the changes I made.

I drafted my own skirt and sleeves.


Fabric and Construction
For the shell of the dress I used a beautiful cotton sateen that I bought on sale from Spotlight for $4 a metre. This.never.happens.to.me. Cue high-five-ing strangers.

The dress is fully lined, and closed with an invisible zipper down the centre back.


The feature of this dress is a row of pleats along the hem of the skirt and the sleeves.

This took foooorreeeevvvveeerrrrr! Each pleat was individually sewn down and took a total of 4 metres of fabric and four hours to complete. I love the effect though so it was worth it.

I cut the pleats on the straight grain to make them more rigid and less stretchy. This gives the pleats a nice little kick out at the edges which I love.


I love the heart shape of the bodice and the galaxy dress shape of the shoulders. It just feels so freaking feminine!


Styling
Flower crown from Sportsgirl
Red leather bow belt from JigSaw
Patchuli Floc shoes from Melissa Shoes
Chanel lipstick #98 - This is my new absolute favourite red. Not too dark, not too bright, not too shiny, not too matt. Just perfection!


Special Mentions
Today, the 15th of October is mine and my husbands second wedding anniversary and the first with our baby boy. Don't want to gross you guys out too much but I really love this guy. More than sewing. And fabric. That's a lot.



Don't forget to check out the other entries and VOTE for your favourite! Voting closes Thursday at 8pm MDT.

Thanks again for all your support! :))

45 comments:

  1. Gorgeous dress! You look like a classic 50's pinup girl! heading over to vote :)

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  2. That would be perfect for a beachy vacation date night!

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    1. Thanks Carlee! My family and I are heading up to the beach in December so I'll have to take it with me!!

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  3. I would vote for every single dress you have ever shown us here if there was a competition for it :)

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    1. Wow thank you! That's such a nice thing to hear :)

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  4. Well if you don't win this round I will be officially mad lol. You're the only one who actually used a print for your entire garment! A gorgeous print I might add, and the pleated sleeves and hem were SO worth all the effort. Gorgeous dress (and face. your face is gorgeous too)!!! I love love love the fabric. You're the winner in my book!

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  5. Happy Anniversary, and I hope you're celebrating in that fantastic dress! Those pleats and that print are just a too-die-for combination. I love how you added the pleats to the sleeves as well as the hem. Fabulous!

    Please do prints more often-- you're totally rocking it! :)

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    1. Thanks for your encouragement Tasha, I think I might start making an effort to sew more with prints :)

      Thanks again for your comment.

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  6. Happy anniversary. Love the dress, a bit of a Maori vibe I thought! You look gorgeous in the print, good luck

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    1. Thanks Mags for the well wishes! What a wonderful compliment, I'd love to look Maori so dressing like it is close enough!

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  7. Firstly, Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!!
    And secondly, this dress is awesome!!

    I frequent the Spotlight discount fabric table all the time.... I wish I had found that fabric! I love it!!!

    You and I are complete opposites, I always sew with prints! 90% of the time my dresses are floral prints. Just finished one last week. Darn Cheap in Heidelberg is my cotton sateen-floral go-to store.

    This version of the 8280 looks nothing like the last one! They both look amazing but I like this one more, cos it's floral :)

    Great styling! You got my vote!!!

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    1. Haha thanks Neeno :) I always love reading your comments. We are well matched with fabric then because we wouldn't have to worry about fighting over the same fabric in a store!

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  8. Holy crap woman, that looks like it took forever! Lucky you look so wicked it in:)
    i loce cotton sateen, $4 at spotlight, only the Aussies will appreciate the rareness of this hahah:)

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    1. Yes you are right! hahaha! In some places $4 is standard :) Thanks so much lovely lady :)

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  9. And here I am blowing my schnozz as I read... ah, spring time. Gorgeous dress Julia! Isn't it crazy about how what we buy as fabric can be different to what we unintentionally want to sew with? Love what you've done with the galaxy dress bodice here - such a flattering neckline for you, and cute ass sleeve-lets! Happy Anniversary to you both - Love is such a wonderful thing :) And of course, you've got my vote!

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    1. Thanks lovely lady! I'm so excited to read your posts as your wedding dress progresses, I just know it's going to be a work of art!

      Thanks so much for voting :)

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  10. How sweet! I really like the pleated ruffle at the bottom of the skirt.

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    1. Thanks Sarah! I love adding subtle little features that add to a dress but don't overwhelm it. Thanks so much for your comment :)

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  11. Happy anniversary!! I love this dress and the floral crown is the perfect accessory.

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    1. Thanks Sarah. I kind of want to wear a floral crown everyday now, but I might get stares. Meh. Thanks for the well wishes :)

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  12. ***high five*** this dress is adorable! You've done a fantastic job the pleats on the sleeves are my favourite part :)

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    1. Oh yay, thank you! You know I almost didn't add the sleeves and I'm so glad I did! :)

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  13. Yeh to your floral tribute. I love the ruffles.

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  14. Oh it's loverly lady. Go the prints!

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  15. Gorgeous. Did you bring this pattern and fabric to social sewing? Could not have imagined the amazing creation that has emerged!

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    1. Yes!! Well spotted! It's amazing how different a print can look depending on wht you make with it :)

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  16. Happy 2nd anniversary! I love your dress, the bodice is such a gorgeous style and I love the fabric! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk

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  17. Love the print and the pleats - you look like a couture pin-up hippie chick! Love it! Heading over to vote! :)

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  18. Beautiful, Julia! My husband and I had our 2nd on October 9th ... so close! Happy anniversaries to us!

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  19. Now that you pointed it out, most of your projects are solid. That's definitely curious!

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  20. Hi just stumbled upon your blog and your beautiful dress, wow, what a great design, choice of fabric and overall look! Just been over to vote for you on the competition, no arm twisting needed ;-) yours looked the best (in my opinion) by far! :-)

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  21. Va-va-va-voom!! You look awesome in this dress, like some sexy flower child!! I really like the twist you have done on this pattern, that pleating detail looks great..and may be emulated in the near future ;)

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  22. This is epic, Julia! Loving the pleats- they add a lovely finish. And all the cool kids are celebrating their second anniversary this month. Such a wonderful time of year to get married :D

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  23. This is absolutely gorgeous! I love love love love LOVE it!

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  24. so gorgeous! i love when spotlight surprises me with random awesome fabrics. But their not very often sadly. I love your version of this dress too, its lovely

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  25. Amazing. It's unbelievably gorgeous and feminine. I love the ruffles. Congrats on your anniversary!

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  26. Love this frock... and the pleating is gorgeous.

    (may I ask - I was down in Melbourne the other day and everyone was wearing those flower headbands - what is the giddy go? They haven't reached Sydney as yet).

    Good to see you through to the next round by the way... keep up the brill work.

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    1. Hi Stephanie and thank you! Well it's Melbourne cup Tuesday well and so everyone is a little bit spring races obsessed in Melbourne. That means all the stores are chock-as full of fascinators, hats and yep, flower crowns. I'd say that's what's responsible for it in Melbourne!

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  27. Love this dress!!! The fabric is perfect for the style. Would have been great for my recent honeymoon in Maui! Good job!

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  28. Lindo vestido y la tela ideal!!! Felicitaciones!!!

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  29. Lindo vestido y la tela ideal!!! Felicitaciones!!!

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  30. Fantastic dress, loving the floral prints, nothing better than quality dressmaking fabrics

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  31. What a beautiful dress the fabric and design is just amazing. You look so stunning!! Congrats on getting through the challenge round as well, you should have it in the bag with all of your creations! xo

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