Monday, January 6, 2014

I'm Just mad about Saffron

"...Saffrons mad about me"

Oh Donovan! How many post titles can I come up with from his lyrics? Perhaps we can discuss that another time, because now I have my finished dress to show you! 



Taa Daa! Isn't she so yellow! The fabric is actually more mustard in real life, depending on the lighting and you can't help but feel cheerful in this yellow frock

Marigold from my garden
The pattern I used for this dress was Simplicity 7296. Although this pattern requires quite a few coutoure techniques, as I had made a similar one before, I knew where to take the time for certain parts and also which parts could be skipped over.

Vogue 7219 - The first version 
The Simplicity version
I found the instructions on the Simplicity version lacking quite a bit. They instruct you to add bound button holes to the front placket but don't tell you how to do them, they also don't remind you to add windows for the buttonholes on the facing of the placket. Also despite needing buttonholes on the cuffs, they forget to tell you that as well!


There are also the finer details of slip stitching the facings, buttonhole windows and a few little bits that in the Vogue version they seem to make a big deal out of, but in this version they skim over it.

I guess that's why Vogue patterns always costed that little bit more - the detail they encouraged you to put into your work was higher then that of other pattern companies.

Something to remember when buying vintage patterns!



The fabric of choice was a woven silk which I bought from The Fabric Shop in Surry Hills. It might be a blend but I can't remember anymore. 

And it pills likes the dickens so I have to be careful with bags and things that might rub against it. The drape and the softness of the hand kind of make up for it. It feels sort of like a good quality flannel and is quite warm, so I might have to wait till the cooler days to wear this. And weirdly it has a really unique smell. Not your normal fabric smell! Kind of like freshly cut wood! 

Yes I'm a weirdo I know... 
  

When I bought the fabric I immediately knew which pattern it needed to go with because of the illustration on the Vogue pattern. And I couldn't help myself but replicate the pose! Ha!

But I bought the Simplicity version in the mean time and decided to try it out instead

Twinsies!
The Simplicity pattern does have a pattern piece for a tie-belt, which you could draft up easily anyway, but I think it's also a nice piece to make this dress easier to wear for work.




Details wise the collar is very simple, it doesn't include a collar stand or things like that so it just lines up with the placket and is encased in the facing


Bound Buttonhole front
One of the mistakes I made was lining up the buttonhole windows on the yoke facing.

If you see in the top button hole it doesn't line up properly to conceal the raw edge, but the one on the bottom does. It's pretty easy to avoid this mistake. You just need to be careful when drawing up the little windows and being sure to line them up before sewing.  



I used a different button on the cuff because I ran out of the kit buttons. Once I get more i'll replace them! 


The pockets of this dress instead of being patch or inseam are welt pockets with a nice neat flap over to cover. The pocket flap is handsewn at the sides to keep it up and in place


The insides, for those of you who might be interested. Most of the detail is on the front of the dress, so you have quite a bit of work to do before you can even sew the back on.


I'm really excited by this dress! It's so fun and bright to wear and fills both my love for tent dresses and work appropriate smart dresses.

I love it so much I had to do a twirl!
Well, I hope you enjoyed that mellow yellow adventure! I'm still on holidays from work so I'll be working on Rosie Wednesdays Shift dress sew along this month and I also need to finish of the 4 DIYs dresses. Naughty me always sewing things for myself!

Enjoy your week! and If you back to work this week try not to work too hard!

Cat xo

25 comments:

  1. You and I are Donovanized, dear Catherine, and this eye popping dress you crafted can be called mellow yellow quite rightly! You stated that the fabric has a unique smell. I was going to ask if it smells like electrical banana but after learning more about that term on a song meaning site, perhaps I shouldn't. :)

    Suffice it to say you look smashing and did a fine job making this dress. I especially like the belted look.

    Good night, dear friend Cat, and have a terrific Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shady! and im glad you looked up the meaning for that line too. My boyfriend also likes the belted look - i cant wait to wear it for work.

      Delete
  2. This is a lovely dress - the colour is great and I love the cut of it. I find it so hard to find fabric that I like, I had actually planned to go fabric shopping whilst I was off work but it has been blowing a gale here so I didn't bother. Enjoy your time off! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh yes! that weather sounds terrible! We heard about all the awful weather in the North lately. I hope it had stopped now though and that you can get back to your fabric shopping!

      Delete
  3. Where you get those shoes from?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so you dont care about the dress? just onto the shoes! WELL! Their from the op shop.

      miss you! xo

      Delete
  4. This is my favorite of all your dresses Cat , i love the fabric , il love the color , i love the pattern , and i love the 2 versions (belted or not) .

    ReplyDelete
  5. SO super sweet! Love the colour, and what a comfy but smart style!
    I sewed thousands of plackets when I worked as a machinist for a year and a half years ago, and man, did I get in the swing of them! Haven't done once since, however......nice job! I like seeing the innards and all the details.......
    O, I pulled out my Simplicity sewing book, and it is indeed the same one!!!
    XXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh i did not know that about you! I sometimes wish i could be a seamstress but in a way im worried it would ruin my love for recreational sewing.

      Yay book twins! xo

      Delete
  6. One of my favorite colors! And I always wondered what happens on the inside of the bound button holes... a self-faced window on the facing! That makes so much sense.

    Great job on this - lots of work went into it, clearly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! Ive always loved mustard too! glad i cleared up the boundbutton hole issue for you also! xo

      Delete
  7. Beautiful and bright, great work on your nifty little buttonholes!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really love this dress - I'm a big fan of tent dresses, but that belt really changes the look completely. How great are the buttonholes and I love the recreation of the pose on the envelope.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes! i love tent dresses too, i love that they look so much like children's style dresses and the belt is equally fashionable!
      thank you for visiting!

      Delete
  9. Oh I love, love, love it! I think this might be my favourite out of all your fantastic creations. You've done an amazing job. And my goodness, you look just like that dolly on the pattern it's uncanny! It looks great with the little tie-belt too.
    I bet you'll feel so fab walking out and about in this new little number - I would!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh really? thank you Lucy! i really love it too =)
      I cant wait till the weather cools down so i can wear it to work! its really warm despite being silk blend

      Delete
  10. This is so adorable! It looks just like the girl in your blog header!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! its the same illustration actually!

      Delete
  11. Ooh, I've only just found your blog, but I love it! You have such great style (and hair!)! I love this dress-- it looks fantastic on you! Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you love! so glad you came over to visit!

      Delete
  12. Hi Catherine, I have been trying to locate your email address as I would like to discuss with you doing an interview for Glory Days Magazine in New Zealand. We are currently putting together the 60's issue. If you are interested could you please email me at rosinadezign@hotmail.com. Kind regards Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love your blog! This dress is super cute as well xx
    http://birdseyechronicles.blogspot.com.au

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment! Please do not comment anonymously - feel free to use the Name/URL option instead as I’d still love to hear from you xo

*Spam comments will be swiftly deleted, so please do not bother

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.