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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The 'Primrose Polka Dot' Dress

I wasn't sure if I was going to be participating in the Sew Weekly challenge this week until about Wednesday.  I'd been trying to get caught up on some random sewing projects that I've had calling to me for a while now and felt like I'd lost my sewing mojo.  I hadn't gone into my sewing room and have had the same blouse laying on the cutting table for two weeks.  I don't know what it is... the idea of spending 4-6 hours on finished a garment? Maybe. Work has also been really crazy which has made me want to just veg when the day is done.  I do have some plans to improve my sewing time (more on that soon), but what ended up inspiring me was just a good old-fashioned sale.



My local yarn and fabric store had recently converted to online only, and now the owner is moving elsewhere in California.  This meant a massive sale.  Well, it first started out at 30%, but while I was tempted, the missing sewing mojo wouldn't let me be phased. Until she announced 50%. Let the web shopping begin!  I picked up a couple of prints, and some Kona solids, but it was just enough to inspire me to get me back into the sewing room.  I had a different garment planned, but then Mena posted some 40's inspiration pictures for this week's theme.  I loved all of the fun prints, and while I'm not crazy about some of the 40's dress features, I started thinking about how Colette's Ceylon dress definitely has a 40's vibe about it.  And I just happened to order some grey and pink polka dot fabric that could totally fit into the theme.  And there you have it! I practically ran to the sewing room to get started.

Even more exciting, my good friend Jess from Tartan Hearts Jewelry sent me a necklace that would go perfectly with this dress (and a few of my other upcoming projects).  The piece is one of my favorites that she carries - the Primrose necklace on a silver chain.  I love the color of the pink and the Hunger Games inspiration.  And the best part? She's going to be doing a giveaway for my lovely readers! So stay tuned for that announcement, coming this Friday!


The Facts

Fabric: 3.5 yards Michael Miller Dumb Dot cotton in dark grey with pink polka dots $20
Pattern: Colette Ceylon, previously made $0
Year: Contemporary
Notions: 16 buttons $4, bias tape $2
Time to complete: Approx. 6 hours
First worn: To my nephew's baptism
Wear again? Yes! Love it!
Total cost: $26

I've already made this dress before, but it was one of my earlier creations.  It's pretty easy to put together but even having made it before, I had to read over some steps a few times.  I even went back to my original dress to see how I did it and realized I had made a few mistakes back then.  It still fits great, but it's interesting to see how your skills (and hairstyles) change over the course of a year.



There was one slight mishap in making the dress, but it had a happy ending:

So, once the fabric came in the mail, I had the majority of the supplies for the dress.  On Saturday morning, I ran out to my local JoAnn's to pick up some buttons, knowing I needed 16. For some reason the 16 transformed itself into 14 in my head and I only picked up 3 packs of 5 buttons.  While completing my dress on Saturday evening, I broke one of the buttons on my machine. Oops. Good thing I only needed 14. But wait! I needed 16! And I'm wearing this dress tomorrow!  I looked at the clock and saw that it was 8:40.  Could I get to JoAnn's before they closed at 9?  Let's find out!  The hubby and I raced over there making it in record time.  At 8:50 I ran into the store and picked up on $1 pack of buttons.  Mission accomplished!  I was able to finish my dress in time for the baptism, without showing too much skin in Church from lack of buttons.



And there you have it!  My 40's inspired dress.  I seem to have a thing with polka dots, but I love the dark grey fabric and the fact that the dots themselves are such a light pink that it's a nice surprise when you realize the hint of color.  And I love that I have the perfect necklace to go with it!  Check in later this week for the Tartan Hearts Jewelry giveaway!

What I Watched: Finished off the last of the Scrubs that we own (I think Season 7?) and started rewatching Flight of the Concords, Season 1.

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:35 AM

    I love your dress! The pink in the dots makes it look a little softer, it looks perfect on you.

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  2. Wow! 40's inspired pattern, polka dots, dark grey... I love it and the fit is perfect on you Christine. Wonderful. x

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  3. The Ceylon looks fabulous on you. I love the pink polka dots on grey. Very nice. I've reused patterns only to understand the second time that I made unknown errors the first time round! I guess that is what sewing is all about - getting better each time.

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  4. You can't beat a polkadot. ;)
    The dress looks fab...I'm rather tempted by the pattern (it looks like a 40's one I've seen before that I would like to make). Would you say its a tricky one to do?

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    1. I think overall it's a straightforward pattern to assemble but the trickiest part for me was the initial top-stitch assembly of the bodice pieces. Once you've got that down, it's super easy. I think Casey had done a walk through of that process or some other major blogger... I'm pretty sure I referred to someone else's construction pictures the first time that I made this dress. But it's really not that hard, I just had to think about it for a minute this time around.

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    2. I'm a little scared of the yoked neckline. Its something I've not done before.

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    3. Oh don't be afraid of that part! By the time you get to that you've already done the top-stitch assembly multiple times so it's so easy! :) Good luck!

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  5. It looks so good!!! Whenever you make things I always say to myself, "I want to make that too!" :)

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  6. Its just dawned on me the reference in the title. lol! I like the bluebell polka myself....jimmy shand, legend. But Lady Maisery does a great set of both of them...with clog dancing.

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  7. It's just so lovely! It works perfectly with that gorgeous necklace. I'm sorry your week has been so crazy - I am sending hugs your way :)

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  8. This is so adorable on you! I wantbto get my Ceylon out and finally give it a go. I just love the polka dots!

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  9. Dude. Your pictures are fantastic. The dress and necklace go so great together! The main reason I am super jealous of your sewing skills is because of dresses like this!

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