Cherry Blossom Dress + Give Away Winners!

It's officially Autumn in Australia and the warmer fabrics in my fabric stash are starting to come out of their hibernation. It was just the other day when I heard a sleepy, muffled voice coming from the fabric cupboard saying "Gee, what does a wool faille have to do around here to get made into something".

What I am looking forward to for the upcoming cooler season is sewing with more winter fabrics like wool faille and heavier cottons.
What I'm not looking forward to for the upcoming cooler season? Being cold.

Hello indoor heating.

So I'm taking inspiration from Washington D.C. for my latest, admittedly quirky creation. There in D.C. the weather was warm and cheery. On my recent visit to Washington D.C. I was not only in awe of the marvellous fabric that I purchased, but of the beautiful cherry blossom which was in full bloom.

But before I assault you with my many, many finished project photos, let's talk ...

Give-Away Winners!

There are two winners today from two different giveaways, the lipstick red wool crepe fabric and the $25 gift voucher for Patterns From the Past an online store for vintage sewing patterns.

Both of these winners were chosen at random using www.random.org

And the winners are:

2 yards of red wool Crepe

Brianna from the blog Brianna auf Deutsch

$25 Gift voucher to spend at Patterns From the Past

Sassy T from the blog Sassy T Sews

Congratulations ladies! I will be in contact with you shortly with details!

Now back to the dress!

I made the sleeves resemble blossom in honour of the beautiful cherry blossom we saw in D.C.

 

I made the sleeves the same as my A rose is a rose, is a rose, is a rose dress which you can see here. Once you know how to make them it's so easy, and no hand stitching! True story!

If you're interested in making sleeves like these yourself, you can watch my Rose Sleeve Tutorial

 I used silk dupion for the skirt, and for the bodice and sleeves I used pink cotton/lame blend which was left over from my Cotton Candy dress.

I once again employed the use of an elastic band for the waist which accentuates the smallness of the middle against the hips and encourages that vintage silhouette.

I clashed the pink with the red which gives quite a quirky look which I'm sure is not for some, but heck, I like it!

 

It also reminds me of the cartoon character Strawberry Shortcake, which makes me happy in an inexplicable way. Every one should have a strawberry hat. Seriously.

I love how the ruffles on the sleeves resemble flowers. This dress will be a good pick-me-up when it really starts getting cold here in Melbourne.

 

 

For the bodice of this dress I used Vogue pattern 8280, the galaxy dress! See my previous dress I made using the galaxy dress pattern here. I used view B with the sweet heart shaped neckline.
I substituted my own drafted sleeves for the base of the rose sleeves.

  

The skirt I used a simple 3/4 circle skirt and cut it on the bias for extra flare. This helped the skirt kick out at the hem.

 

  

This dress is pretty unique, in fact so 'unique' that I'll probably never have the guts to wear it out in public. But I do love how pretty and girly it looks and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

On a side note, I was very happy to be featured in the Pattern Review blog as the member in Focus! If you're curious you can check out my interview here. Thanks Pattern Review!

Happy Easter everyone!

All the best to you and yours xxx