The ‘Copycat’ Dress

The first Cambie was so good to me, I just had to make another one.  Not only that, but in keeping with my New Year’s resolutions, I wanted a functional, work-appropriate dress.  Not that my other dresses aren’t functional, but I definitely make a lot of frosting.

The Facts

Fabric: 5 yards Grey Kona Cotton, $20, on sale

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie, $0, second time making

Year: Contemporary

Notions: Black invisible zipper, $3

Time to complete: 6 hours

First worn: Out to dinner, while in Vegas (but not before I took pictures by the pool area)

Wear it again? This will be a work staple

Total cost: $23

I thought this second version would go a lot faster than the first, but halfway through I seemed to lose my sewing mojo.  Summer had finally arrived and my sewing room was toasty.  Not only that, but work has been chaotic, which left me with little free time where I didn’t want to just veg or melt into my couch.

That being said, I did love making this dress again.  I made one minor change since the first time, just because I was interested to see how it would change the look and fit.  I extended the bodice by 1” which was easily done with the cut lines provided by Tasia.

I think because this dress doesn’t have the full, gathered skirt, the lengthened bodice was a more comfortable adjustment.  I wanted a dress that fulfilled the ‘business’ dress code at work – big meeting days, etc.  Sometimes my frilly blouses and dresses, while work appropriate for business casual days, may not work for meetings with management.  It was only fitting then that putting this dress together was postponed by work being crazy-busy.

Oh, and why is this the copycat dress?  Well if you saw Tasia’s announcements for the Cambie dress when she first released it, she featured a grey dress of exactly this version.  When I saw it I thought to myself ‘that is exactly what I need in my wardrobe!’  So, I made one too.

What I Watched:  Josie and the Pussycats (2001), completed the last season of Scrubs. If you haven't seen Josie and the Pussycats... well, I wouldn't say it's the best movie, but the ending makes me crack up.  There's some funny moments throughout, but I really just wanted to watch it for the finale laughs.  Oh, and I'm FINALLY done with Scrubs! I had never made it as far as the last two seasons, so it was interesting to see if close out.  It could definitely have ended a season earlier, but the final one wasn't as bad as it originally started out to seem.

The 'City Lights' Reversible Dress

Oh if only this week's challenge would be taking place in a few weeks when I would be in the city of the inspiration! But it's ok, I was still ready to take on the task of being inspired by Las Vegas.

Vegas is just a short plane ride from the Bay Area so I've had many a trips there. A lot when I was a kid (I know, not exactly a family destination, but they did try for a while), more in my 20's, and now we try to make it out there at least once a year or so.  Our annual trip is coming up, so we can hopefully see some Cirque du Soleil shows, enjoy some ice cream from Serendipity, and of course, people watching.

I purchased the fabric used in this challenge back during my first visit to Britex, the uber (expensive) fabric store in San Francisco.  This fabric was on sale in their remnants section, and for as much as I liked the busy print, I haven't been able to find the right inspiration for it.  But it was the first idea that popped into my mind when I heard Vegas.  It's a pink and green print on a black background.  Busy and bright, like the Las Vegas strip at night.

I had enough fabric to make the new Sewaholic Cambie dress, which would be the perfect dress for a day of shopping and people watching in Vegas.  Oh but the nightlife in Vegas is what it's all about!  Early on in the assembly of this dress I realized that the black fabric I was using for the full lining, would be the perfect LBD.  And wouldn't it be great if this dress could translate from day to night?  Now, I don't know if I would actually wear it all day and then turn it around for the evening (especially in Vegas humidity), but I do like having options.



The Facts

Fabric: 3.5 yards of cotton print on sale at Britex $20, black Kona cotton on sale $10
Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie $18
Year: Contemporary
Notions: Invisible zipper $2
Time to complete: 5 hours
First worn: Out and about after a day at the beach
Wear again? Oh yes!
Total cost: $50

Aside from the fact that you essentially make two dresses, this was about my usual 5 hours of sewing time.  I had to be a bit more careful when it came to attaching the lining and hemming the dress, to make sure that it could be worn inside and out.



What I Watched: More Scrubs (yay, Netflix!) and Season 2 of Flight of the Concords

The ‘Flowers in Paradise’ Dress

Aloha!  This week’s creation was lucky enough to be first worn on the island of Oahu while I’m on vacation visiting friends in Hawaii.  It was the perfect summer dress for the gorgeous Hawaii weather.  But what else makes this dress special?  Well, it’s my VIP fabric and pattern. I’ve had Sewaholic’s Lonsdale dress pattern in my stash for several months now but hadn’t found the right fabric to make it.  And I’ve only made one other Sewaholic pattern before and I was a little chicken to bust out of my Simplicity, Colette and Vogue patterns world.  As I started planning for my trip, I decided that I wanted to make a couple of sun dresses so I dusted off the pattern.  I had recently actually looked at the contents and realized that it didn’t look that difficult.  Now I had to find the right fabric for it...

I’ve had this cotton print in my stash for a while too, and while it’s just a simple cotton print, I really liked it and kept putting it aside for the right pattern.  None were good enough for it or I kept thinking ‘I could do better.’  That’s when Lonsdale and the cotton print came together.  As soon as I held the two up side by side I declared ‘that’s it!’

My vacation was quickly approaching and I was worried I wouldn’t have time to put the dress together, but luckily it was one of the fastest projects I’ve made in a long time.  It only took about 4 hours from pattern cutting to finish.  The assembly was ridiculously easy.  The top of the dress is lined, but not the skirt.  I could easily have lined it, but it wasn’t necessary - the fabric is dark and I wanted a lightweight dress.  I love the neck tie and the way it loops around to the back.  

The Facts

Fabric: 4.5 yards Michael Miller floral print cotton, on sale ~$35

Pattern: Sewaholic’s Lonsdale Pattern, on sale ~$15

Year: Contemporary

Notions: 16” zipper, $1.50

Time to Complete: 4 hours

First worn: On vacation in Hawaii

Wear again: Yes!

Total Price: $51.50

The dress fits great and was just right for the Hawaiian weather.  I probably won’t be able to wear it for a few months back home so I just have to get my fill of it now.  

What I Watched: 

Some of Scrubs Season 3