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Wednesday, July 04, 2012

The 'Boardwalk' Dress


I was so excited to receive Christine Haynes new pattern in the mail! I signed up for her Sassy Librarian Craftsy class and was pretty into her style, so I instantly preordered one of her two new patterns when she announced them.  It arrived early last week, bundled up in the cutest retro designed tissue paper, calling to me to make it up.  I just happened to have picked up this red, white and blue floral print fabric for this week's Sew Weekly challenge... in 3 1/2 yards, just under what the pattern called for. But with my creative pattern placement, I actually had just enough fabric.  I think her yardage allowances were pretty generous and I can be pretty frugal with my pattern placements - making sure to get every last inch of fabric covered so that I 1) have leftovers, and 2) can use 3 1/2 yards of fabric when almost 4 are called for.  Genius. (Or cheap... whatever).

The Facts
Fabric: 3.5 yards floral printed cotton, $22, on sale
Pattern: Christine Haynes Derby Dress pattern, $18
Year: Contemporary
Notions: None!
Time to complete: 4 hours
First worn: This last Friday, to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Wear again? Yup
Total cost: $40

When it actually came time to cut out the fabric, I almost got cold feet.  I started to worry that the dress shape just wouldn't be flattering on me.  Ultimately, I bit the bullet.  I had spent the money on the pattern, the dress looked really cute... I should just do it.


The pattern was a breeze to assemble.  While there were quite a few pieces, they were no-fuss, no zippers, no notions... just me, my machine, and my serger.  I didn't make the belt that comes with the dress... yet.  I will, I just wanted to be done and I was happy with the look with my own little brown belt.  The only aspect that I wasn't a fan of was the way the notches were done on the pattern.  Instead of being inside the pattern lines, they were out... which would seem easy enough to fix but I was too lazy to draw the notches into the patterns.  I know some people prefer to notch their patterns on the outside but I figure that with a standard 5/8" seam allowance, there's no real need.  Anyways, not a deal breaker by any means but just something I had on my mind.

We've had some out of town family members staying with us so we're showing them the California sites.  We took them to Santa Cruz. It's a somewhat nearby coastal town famous for it's hippie vibe, surfer culture, and Boardwalk (which you may recognize from the movie Lost Boys).  It was actually a gorgeous summer early-evening.  We rode a few rides, enjoyed some funnel cake, took pictures on the beach and had Marianne's ice cream.  The dress held up really well though keeping the front slouchy can be a challenge when you constantly stuff your hands in your pockets.



Here are some more pictures from our trip to the Boardwalk:



I did not go on the ride in the last picture. Ok, well, I went on the roller coast, but not the crazy spider arm.  I left that one to my hubby and our house guests.  My excuse was that I was wearing a dress. In reality, I thought I'd pee my pants (which would be pretty impressive considering I was wearing a dress).

What I Watched: Trainspotting (1996). Love. Ewan. McGregor. Oh and Kelly MacDonald was so young! The Shawshank Redemption (1994).  I feel like I watched this recently but I just love this movie.

6 comments:

  1. Very nice! That style looks lovely on you - I'm glad you got brave enough to cut it out and make it. :-)

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  2. I've seen the pattern for this dress and thought it was a little "meh" for my taste. Well, I think I need to look again, because it's obviously a gorgeous summer dress!

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  3. That dress is definitely cute on you! Very pretty!

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  4. Love the fabric! That dress turned out super cute. g

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  5. As usual, I love your dress :) I want that pattern!!! And I want to go to the Boardwalk! Is it a dog friendly place?

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  6. What a lovely dress! It looks fantastic on you, and that fabric is just perfect! Way to make the 3 1/2 yards work out so well!

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