Wednesday, January 12, 2011

She wanted a green dress .....

so I made her 'Elodie'.



What a beautiful name for a dress and it certainly lives up to the name.
I posted pictures on Flickr before Christmas, but I had to write about it here too ( I'm also hoping that writing will give me some motivation to get sewing again!!)



Though my daughter tried on the dress it was a Christmas present for my husbands goddaughter. Her parents had searched every where for a green dress and couldn't find one, so Christmas week my husband asked me to make one for her! After a few choice, unrepeatable words, I sent him off to buy green fabric, to find on his return that my local fabric shop is now stocking some American designer quilting cottons. The selvedge has Freespirit, Kathy Davis, Hypnotize Grapes, so I had to Google it!


I knew the pattern I was going to use would be 'Elodie' from Farbenmix. It's completely in German, which I don't understand, but there is a photo-tutorial on the Farbenmix site which was a huge help.











































I got the template for the bag in a Japanese pattern book, but made it up very differently, and included some shirring so that it would match the top of the dress.






















It would be an incredibly quick dress to make, but I wanted an extra neat inside, so I folded under each seam allowance (about 16!) and topstitched them all.
It was worth the extra time, I love the look of the inside.
































































The hairband is my own pattern and made from scraps.

I put some binding on the hem of the dress, just for a little extra weight, as the dress is so twirly.


I'm looking forward to making this dress again soon.
His goddaughter loved her green dress and her parents were very impressed with the seam finishes!!







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7 comments:

  1. It's as gorgeous inside as out! And a bag! Lucky little girl.

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  2. Wow that is truely stunning, you are one talented lady

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  3. Thanks Karin, I normally hide the seams in the lining, so a 'bit' more effort went into this :-) You wouldn't believe how quick and easy the bag was to make - most girls love their bags!!

    Jen, thanks for stopping by and for your lovely compliment. The pattern is so perfect for a girl, that I couldn't go wrong with it.
    I hope you're getting through the hours and the days ok.

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  4. I really love this pattern... and your dress looks incredible! I can't wait for the summer to arrove here to make it again...

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  5. Thanks, Michal. It is such a lovely pattern. I'm already dreaming about making it for my daugter and what fabrics to use! I look forward to seeing the next one you sew.
    Angela

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  6. I love that you took the extra time to neaten up the seams. That's one thing I really need to work on...the insides of clothes I make are definitely not up for public view. It's a beautiful dress!

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  7. Cindy, I found that by neatening the seams, it also makes them stronger, but I also just love the look of a neat inside! My machine is very basic so that's another reason I use a lot of french seams, and topstitching. Thanks for stopping by :-)

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