Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Effortless

...that's what making the Blossom Dress was...

I sewed the Floral Skirt in an hour...seriously one hour from cut-out to hem.  Now I remember why my wardrobe had a disproportionate amount of skirts when my children were younger.  They sewed up quickly and with a blouse made me ready for work.

Somewhere in the handling of the floral fabric, it started speaking loudly about being something else...that it didn't want to go back into the fabric closet.  So listening carefully, I found the cornflower blue linen that coordinates with it...matching the blues in the flowers.  And then realizing that I needed just a little something else, I went into the closet and pulled out several shades of yellow linen (yeah, yeah, I know don't say anything about the number of yellow linens I have!) until one coordinated with the original two pieces...from there it was just effortless.

Seriously, I pulled dress pieces out of the TNT dress pattern folder, arranged some and starting cutting out.  I decided that I only wanted the top of the dress lined because its been hot as hades here lately, pulled some rayon bemberg lining and cut it out.  Then I just sat down at the sewing machine and sewed.  The "hardest" part was changing the serger thread!  *LOL*

So here is the Blossom Dress:


and with my yellow cardigan for the bus which is like riding in a meat locker:



Some stats:

Fabric:
1 yard of floral linen from Textile Studios
1.5 yards of cornflower blue linen from Fabric Mart
.25 yard of yellow linen (who knows where I got this from it's been in the closet so long!)

Notions:
1 20" blue invisible zipper
3 yards of rayon seam binding

The interesting thing about slipping into the sewing zone for me is that I just automatically use techniques that make me smile when I look inside my finished garment...

Like these mitered corners at the back hem slit

I put a small piece of stitch witchery underneath the mitered corner,
then I press it flat - pronto instant corner!

Look, look the invisible zipper and the bands line up correctly at the back of the skirt.  Thank you Summerset because I used your tip ~ marking the zipper and then pinning it at the band first worked perfectly!


I did the joy, joy dance after this! 

When I tried the dress on it was a little snug around the middle and I almost went and let the seams out but then I remembered that this was a pure linen dress and I knew the fibers would start to relax during the day.

It's a little bright for work...but it's summer and there were no important meetings today so I wore it a double strand pearl necklace, little pearl studs and my nude slingbacks.  Conservative with a twist!

So what can we learn from this little adventure *LOL*  okay that just sounded too d*mn serious!  Anyway, my sewing shero Cynthia Guffey says to relax and enjoy the journey!  And I definitely did with this dress...I definitely did because making it was effortless!

...as always, more later!

53 comments:

  1. It's a great dress! So what's my excuse for having a disproportionate amount of skirts? g

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a perfect summer dress, Carolyn.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i know some people probably can't stand to see how great and pulled together you look at your job, its like you always have something great to wear
    beautiful dress, again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great dress! I love your fabric colour/pattern combinations. Perfect for summer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a very pretty dress, and look great with or without the cardi!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cute and very quick. You are so talented!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like breaking up the floral with a block colour. It really suits you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, that dress is beautiful. Your post demonstrates perfectly the importance of a rich stash. I guess I live in a different world because I can't imagine a work environment where that dress would be too casual.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great dress, nice colour combination. It looks lovely on you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you have such a great eye for colour combinations. All your dresses look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is FAB! And I'm so jealous that it went together so easily. What a great project!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is my favorite of the dresses you've made recently! Just gorgeous, and it looks wonderful on you! Boy, you must work in a REALLY conservative office if you think this is possibly too bright for work! With my wardrobe, they'd never let me in your building!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can't decide which I love more: your love of sewing or that gorgeous smile of satisfaction! Keep it up you are beautiful and an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful !

    In my office, that dress would get me asked if I have something important going on that day :-)

    A jacket & skirt will ALWAYS get the question - what time is your interview LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. Not formal enough, huh? wow. That is a gorgeous dress and looks great on you. I do sympathize with you on the 'meat locker' transport, though - you know you are in Siberia when the condensation starts to freeze at the bottoms of the windows.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow, gorgeous!!! I love it when awesome projects just come together like that! And fantastic work on the invisible zipper, you always do such perfect work.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lovely dress! The pattern combo is fantastic. Summery, but still work appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Carolyn, I read but rarely comment, just had to say this blossom dress is a real winner. Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is so pretty and so perfect for summer!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gorgeous! You are always an inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Your dress is lovely. It sounds like you got an inspiration and went with it and enjoyed the process. That is one of those highs that creative people look forward to.

    Your comment about the bus amused me. My husband once drove a city bus between teaching jobs. Now my husband likes it VERY warm in the winter and VERY cold in the summer. He said that especially in the winter people would get on the bus, sit in their coats for awhile, and then he would hear, "Mr. Bus Driver, could you please turn the heat down!"

    I felt for those people since sitting in a rolling overheated bus is about the most nauseau-inducing thing I can imagine. Your comment reminded me of that. I hope your bus driver doesn't make it too hot in winters.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fabulous! What a great dress!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ooh, we must all do the joy-joy dance!

    ReplyDelete
  24. What is it about yellow and blue that say "summer"? I love this dress--time for me to take a break and make something yellow and blue!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Perfect for summer, you look wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh, that's really cute, C! Put that into your frequent wear rotation.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a lovely dress! I particularly love the yellow trim at the arms, too. Beautiful job.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Such a pretty pretty dress!! Love the colors...that dress would be perfect in the large lawfirms I've worked at!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. This is just gorgeous! The blue and yellow combination is such a fresh summery feel.

    ReplyDelete
  30. oh.oh.oh! How I love this! Your stash is your palette. It is lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I can't help but comment because that dress is totally fab! Nice work.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love the blue and yellow!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Great dress - I love the way it looks like two pieces, but is just one dress. I bet it was fun to make this after all the work of the diagonally pleated dress.

    ReplyDelete
  34. oooh, very nice! i'm jealous of the perfect mitered corners ;)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Your creative juices just seems to flow non-stop. This dress is gorgeous. I love the color combination. They blend nicely together.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Nice happy clothes, enjoyed seeing this, this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  37. oh thank you for the inspiration! I wanted something pretty for these hot, sticky days and have been dithering with new patterns. I went to my closet and pulled a dress I made in 1992 and am still wearing... 'cause it fits me again. Pulled the pattern, all the pieces were there, spent 2 hours figuring out how to cut it from a piece of flowered chintz that was at least 3/4 of a yard less than suggested, and it's now 3/4 done! I'll be able to wear it out this weekend. Why oh why do I try to make things so complicated... this little number will be part of my summer wardrobe for many years to come.
    Thanks for your never-ending insipiration!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Beautiful dress!! Another smashing winner!!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. A perfect dress for summer! You look great.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Well, it certainly doesn't look effortless. It does look well-planned out and executed. I love the color on you and it's perfect for summer. Nice job.

    ReplyDelete
  41. That is so great! The yellow sleeve bands really bring it up a notch.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I need more skirts! Love the vintage feel to this.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Beutiful dress, and LOVED reading about the process! I have zero dresses, none, zippo, nada....but reading your blogs and seeing the dresses you've created, I am very close to being convince to make some. Like right now!Thank you for inspring me.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Such a pretty summer dress!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Great looking Dress! I love the colors

    ReplyDelete
  46. Your dress reminded me of this Jason Wu dress Michelle Obama wore last July:
    http://mrs-o.org/newdata/?currentPage=58
    What do you think of the black/white/red combination?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Nice dress! i need help on sizing. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  48. What a perfect dress for summer! I don't think it's too bright at all - I love that you paired it with pearls and nude heels. I love all of the color blocking in dresses lately and this one is no exception. :)

    ReplyDelete
  49. I love everything about this dress, Carolyn. You look wonderful in it. Congrats on doing such a great job.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Yep, I said it and I'm saying again: This dress is my favorite from the Blossom set. You look stunning!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! It is so appreciated!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails