Um ... Happy New Year peeps! Yeah that's right, it's freaking 2014 and I haven't blogged since December 2013. Whaaaaa? Julia, put the egg-nog down!
Don't worry, I haven't just been in my pyjamas this whole time eating christmas chocolate (much). I've also made a few things, and here is one of my latest:
It's another Laurel by Colette Patterns! This is the second time I've made this dress and once again it was an easy-breezy quick sew and a pleasure to make. You can check out my first Laurel here.
Two Laurel's side by side
I made the sleeveless version using suiting fabric and bias binding to finish the sleeves and neck edge.
Changes:
I shorted the dress by about four cm and took the side seams in slightly around the waist. This gave the dress just a little bit more shape but still kept the loose fitted structure of a shift dress.
I also cut the pattern into three pieces to make a colour blocked effect, and now I just want to colour block everything! I love the combination of white, grey and yellow.
Accessories:
Shoes - Piccola Italy by Joanne Mercer in brown
Necklace - Neon Geometric by LiKeGjewelry
Love:
This dress is super comfortable to wear and is getting a real work out this Australian summer! I love how easy it is to jazz up with a pretty necklace and I especially love how fast and simple it is to sew. Its a winner!
Recent Indulgent Purchases:
So if you've been following my instagram, you may have seen my latest two babies: Two amazing necklaces from Strangely Yours.
A mini sewing machine complete with its own little spool of thread. Oh, and it says 'Julia Bobbin' on it. SHUT-UP!
And a mini polaroid camera, that has a little photo that pops in and out. That's a tiny photo of me and my two faves. It is so freaking cute that it burns my eyes!
News:
Coming soon ... Mad Men Dress Challenge Number 3!! Yes that's right, it's that time of the year again where we all get together and indulge ourselves with fabulous vintage sewing inspired by the TV show Mad Men!
It's a ridiculous amount of fun and I absolutely love seeing what everyone comes up with! I'll be posting details about it in the next few weeks. In the meantime, check out the last two years Mad Men Sew-a-longs to get yourselves excited!
Eek! I am loving 2014 so much already! I can't wait to sew with everyone this year!
love the color blocking! those colors look awesome together. i've only cheered from the sidelines of the mad men challenges... so, joining or not, i look forward to seeing all the MM outfits!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks Lisa!
DeleteTruly pretty color blocked dress and you look great as always. Can not wait for MM challenge :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Hana, I'm excited too! I get the feeling this one is going to be epic!
DeleteLike the dress, pretty and simple, love the necklaces, they are the cutest things I've seen in a while.
ReplyDeleteHannah.
http://surfjewels.tumblr.com/
Thanks Hannah! I'm really into my accessories at the moment. They really add to an outfit!
DeleteBeautiful. Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWell you're just my favourite person now! :)
DeleteSo lovely! I'm swooning just thinking of the Australian summer right now...
ReplyDeleteJenny you might be swooning, but we're all sweltering! I shouldn't complain though, I do love the heat :)
DeleteLovely dress and am so looking forward to the Mad Men challenge. SSB https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees ❀
ReplyDeleteyay! Thanks lovely Sassy :)
DeleteLove love love those colours, they please my eye so! Really looking forward to the Mad Men challenge, count me in!
ReplyDeleteHooray! Looking forward to seeing what you make! I wonder who you'll model yourself off.
DeleteVery cute! Love the colorblocking - that yellow pop is perfect! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know looking back at my garments I tend to sew with a lot of yellow so it's obviously a subconscious favourite of mine. Thanks lovely :)
DeleteLove your color-blocked Laurel! It's such a fun, quick dress to sew up and looks adorable on you. Looking forward to this year's Mad Men Challenge!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue, I appreciate it!
DeleteWonderful colors! They really go well together, and that's such a lovely shape.
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely! It's a great color combination!
ReplyDeleteWow! I've seen a lot of pretty Laurel dresses, including both of yours. I love all the colors you added, especially the yellow! :) I'm not sure of the silhouette because I love a fitted bodice. I might have to take it in at the waist like you did. I shall make this pattern work for me! Oh, oh! I'm super excited for the mad men challenge! I've been...uhh...stalking your blog and I was wondering if you'll host another one. Yipeee!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing what you make this year!
DeleteHi Julia, great to see you back and what a fabulous return. Your dress is just to die for. Great colour combination and a lovely semi fitted shape. Just perfect with your necklace. Australian summer sounds lovely. Here in Scotland we are having cold cold rain - not even a puff of snow and lots of gales. Yuck! I am making a wool jacket but can 't wait to start on the Mad Men 2014 challenge. P.s I started my own wee sewing blog for 2014 and have no followers :-(. Would be honoured if you take a look. Anniesinstitches at bloglovin
ReplyDeleteGreat dress! I've been wondering where you've been! Eeek! im excited! i've been wanting an excuse to recreate Megans wardrobe for ages!
ReplyDeleteOh Catherine I'm obsessed with Megan's wardrobe too! In fact, I think I'm starting to prefer it to Joan's, though I'm yet to make something of hers.
Deleteso excited for this year's mad men challenge!!! I have a couple things in mind :)
ReplyDeleteLove the color blocking, looks so fab on you!
ReplyDeleteAhhh those necklaces are sooo sweet! Love the dress - that pattern is sooo versatile!
ReplyDeleteOh my, how this dress is getting me in the mood for Easter. I can smell the warmth. I know on your side if the equator, it's hot , but I've been freezing my tush off.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for your mad men challenge! I've been concentrating a lot of finding my style of sewing, and a lot of it is vintage inspired, a la 1950s.
That is such a lovely colour palette. Plus the shape is great on you. Gor.geous.
ReplyDeleteJULIA! Stop being so adorable! I love this dress, your vision for it is amazing. I'm glad to see you back. I've been slow on the posting too. Mommyhood can get the best of you, and it's worth it. I'm excited for this Mad Men challenge, I'm thinking of joining - it gives me an excuse to find a vintage maternity pattern.
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute laurel. I love the colour blocking! And yaay for mad men challenge - can't wait!
ReplyDeleteThe colour blocking looks great! I like the way you've made the dress a little more tailored, and those necklaces... super cute!!
ReplyDeleteLove this! Love the colour-blocking. I have been so obsessed with shifts lately
ReplyDeleteWhat a prefect way to pop up the Laurel! Love the colour combo!
ReplyDeleteI SO want to do this Mad Men challenge! :D
Lovely combination of colours and a really cute Laurel! I wish summer comes here too,quickly :)
ReplyDeleteI've seen your previous MadMen challenges, only too late to take part, so I'll make sure, I don't miss this one.
SO. PRETTY. julia that color combo, yumalicious. and that necklace!!
ReplyDeleteLove the colour block dress, very summery!!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so pleased your doing a mad men three challenge, I hope to be able to join in this time, you know what the say, third time lucky ;)
Absolutely gorgeous!! I just love the color combo with the color blocking. I would never have thought to do this, great job!!
ReplyDeleteI love the color blocking! It's amazing how different your two versions of the Laurel dress look with the addition of this effect!
ReplyDeleteI'm very pleased to hear you're hosting a third Mad Men sew along! I've very much enjoyed participating during the last two years! We're going to have to find a new program to sew along with! The series, Masters of Sex has some brilliant 50's inspired costuming. It's no Mad Men, but what is?
i like the pop of yellow!! goes well with the grey!!
ReplyDeleteI can't stop thinking about this dress and lurking your website to get another peek of it. I can't wait to have a go at a copy cat.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I love EVERYTHING you make! And now I too want to colour block too! And also finally get on Twitter to follow YOU! Not even mentioning how much I'm looking forward to MMDC3, squeeeeeeeee!
ReplyDeleteOMG I cannot believe it is that time already! I feel like I just finished my last Peggy dress. Not really, it just makes me realize I how unproductive I have been (sewing wise) since then. Time to get inspired!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, love your color blocked Laurel. Happy to see your makes in my blog feed again, dear!
Love ur dress and blog! Following
ReplyDeletewww.thatssewnaija.blogspot.com
Love the Neckpiece as well lol
DeleteLove this dress so much! A gorgeous colourblocked snazzy number like this is totally what my wardrobe is needing.
ReplyDeleteOh, and MM Challenge? I'm riffling through my patterns as we speak!
Fashion Outfits nice blog, get information about latest fashion, and stay up to date. :)
ReplyDeleteYou look really cute with the dress. Lovely posts by the way I love the neck piece as well.
ReplyDeleteHi fives, fellow Laurel lover!!! I've made three versions of it already - a dress and two tops - and plan on continuing to populate my wardrobe with more! LOL. Love your colour blocking option - gray and yellow are so fantastic together! :)
ReplyDeleteHope I'll be able to participate in the Mad Men challenge FINALLY this year - work keeps getting in the way! LOL
This is such a great version of the Laurel. I love the colours you chose, they are so soft and muted and go together really well.
ReplyDeleteLoved both your Laurels and can't wait for MMC3!
ReplyDeleteThis is so gorgeous! I totally want to copy it, that colour combination is killing me
ReplyDelete