Guest Posting at Miss Crayola Creepy

Hey everyone! I'm guest posting over at Miss Crayola Creepy's blog today!  I'm sharing my Modern Garden Party dress as part of Sew Colette 2's first pattern sew-along: Hazel.  Check out the post. I took some new pictures in the dress, just for the occasion.

The 'Summer Paisley' Dress

I think I’ve made a new record in my sewing times, in being able to whip this dress up in just under 3 hours.  Having a serger has made all the difference, but it also helps that I had just recently made this dress, so the pieces were all cut and ready to go.

This dress is on the brighter side of my Spring/Summer sewing palette, but fit perfectly with the colors that I was seeing in summer trends. In particular, Pantone’s spring and summer colors.  And I love the modern paisley print.

The Facts

Fabric: 2.5 yards floral printed cotton, $20, on sale
Pattern: Colette Hazel, $0, second time making
Year: Contemporary
Notions: Invisible zipper, $3
Time to complete: 3 hours!
First worn: This past week, in Las Vegas.
Wear again? Yes!
Total cost: $23 

I considered extending the bodice for this dress, as that seems to be my new trend, but I remember reading in the Sew Colette 2 sewalong that Sarai specifically made this dress to have a higher waist.  One change that I did make since first making this dress, was to extend the width of the arm straps by 2” each.  While I really like the arm straps as they are, I have to wear my other version with a strapless bra because the straps and where they connected to the front of the dress made a section of my regular bras constantly visible.  This change definitely solved the problem, though in the future I might just give the arm straps a little more shape, similar to the Cambie dress.

I love wearing this dress.  It’s so comfortable and instantly makes me think of summer.  The colors are so bright and the design is perfect for hot weather.

And with that, my trip to Vegas is over!  

What I Watched:  Part of Black Sheep (1996) and listened to the hubby watch Batman Begins (2005) in the other room. 

The 'Modern Garden Party' Dress

This dress is a long time in the making.  Since seeing Season 1 of Downton Abbey, I (and like what seems to be every other blogger out there) have been itching to make the clothes from the show.  I was instantly hooked on Lady Mary's garden party/flower show dress.  I knew I had to make it.  So the obsession began.

It started with looking for the right pattern (do I go straight to the Sense and Sensibility period inspired garments?), with my eye on the lookout for the right fabric match, lace trims, etc.  I picked up various patterns, I found the perfect fabric, and was just waiting for the right time to start sewing.

I had decided upon the Sense and Sensibility pattern, but the more I thought about it, the more I hesitated to make an exact replica of the dress.  I wanted to make something I would wear and feel comfortable in. Ok, just start already Christine!  Then the Girl with the Star Spangled Heart posted her version.  Gorgeous! Totally drool worthy and such a spot on version! But I could already see myself saying that I wouldn't wear a long dress on a regular basis. Do I just follow the same concept but go shorter?? Ugh, I'm so indecisive!

Then.

Voila!

Colette announced her new pattern line.

And it was love at first sight!

The striped version of Hazel just screamed out the answer to me.  This is it! The pattern I was meant to make! So I jumped on the pre-order and waited.

And waited.

And watched as people who did instant download started making their versions.  Where was my copy?! Well, apparently there was a huge influx of orders and their distributor ran out.  Patience is not my forte but eventually I got my copy and a lesson was learned.  If I really want it at release, I have to print it myself and tape it together.  After a bit of grumbling and unhappy customer syndrome, I dealt with it.  Luckily the pattern was perfect and a breeze to put together.  I just stuck with one pattern size without any modifications.  I worked on matching up my stripes appropriately towards my inspiration dress.  Horizontal in the front panel, vertical in the sides, and a chevron angle in the back (somewhere I saw a picture of the back of her dress with this feature but now I cannot for the life of me find it).

I added a strip of lace to the front panel and some vintage buttons that I picked up at Stitches.  Purely decorative.  The final touch?  I made a belt using Sunni's belt kit.  The darker shade of grey imitated the stripe of contrasting fabric in the original dress.

Back of the dress. I spared you my awful tan lines with some Photoshop editing.

The Facts
Fabric: Striped cotton print from Etsy $40, quarter of a yard of grey cotton from JoAnn's $2
Pattern: Colette's Hazel Approx. $22 with shipping
Year: Contemporary
Notions: Invisible zipper $2, small strip of lace $0.50, vintage buttons $6, belt kit from Sunni $7 when it was on sale
Time to complete: Probably 7 hours including hand stitching the belt
First worn: This week
Wear again? Yes! All the time!
Total cost: $79.50 Pricey but totally worth it. Once I use the pattern a couple more times I'll feel better about the cost.

I wore this dress all day of MMM 9 - to work (with a cardigan) and then to the meet-up to see Karen of Did You Make That.  I'll post pictures and a recap of that event separately, but I did get to play around in my dress in Union Square... the tourist center of downtown San Francisco.  A marching band was hanging out in the area for some reason so we got a little show while hanging out in the square.

Really? What are the odds?

The marching band parking in front of my photo spot.

And I got to run away when I realized there were a lot of people around during my little photo shoot.  Awkward!  And cold!

Brrr!

Oh and I apologize for a wrinkly dress. I really had been wearing it all day so it was inevitable.

I love how the dress turned out!  After all of the waffling around and decision-making in the beginning of the process, I'm so happy with the final product.  The dress is very comfortable and is definitely something that I would wear throughout the spring and summer.  It fits nicely into a few of my sewing plans too:

Dressing Downton

That's Sew Cinematic

and my Spring/Summer Palette!

If you haven't already, you have to see Sarah's version of the garden party dress! Another great take on the iconic striped dress.  I love seeing everyone's interpretation of these dresses!  So what about you - are you making one or participating in any of these challenges?