As soon as I saw the fabric I thought of this lovely Japanese dress pattern which I last made back in 2014 (here). The pattern is from Let's Go Out Girl's Clothes by Yuki Araki - I can't find a purchasable copy on the web, but here's a link that at least shows the cover.
It's a lovely, gently A line dress with an inverted box pleat at the centre front, a peter pan collar using the reverse face of the fabric and the cute Petersham ribbon trim.
It's hard to see in the photo but the ribbon trim is curved slightly, and while I struggled with a standard ribbon last time, this time I did find a Petersham ribbon that was a pretty good colour match. The difference in how it curves is the key. Failing finding a Petersham ribbon I'd suggest a strip of bias binding. This ribbon came from Jimmy's buttons.
The sleeves are perfectly puffy and very sweet. They're gathered with elastic which I suspect has flipped up in these photos and I hadn't noticed until now.
The back neck has a little facing and a hook and eye closure. Looking back at my blog post from 4 years ago I commented on how lovely the neckline finish is and how I should have taken a photo of the insides. For fear of repeating myself, the inside neckline is lovely, and yes, I should have taken a photo.
I made a shirt for myself that had a similar neckline finish and the process is shown in this photo tutorial. It's a really nice, neat way to finish a neckline with collar and involves no handsewing.
Her brother's lesson in expert modelling, which was being performed just out of camera shot, was not being appreciated....
She looks cuter here, but you'll have to imagine how cute he was looking! :)
The dress is size 130cm which is the largest that the patterns in this book go up to. The length is generous and the fit is just perfect. It was made exactly as per the pattern with no modifications. It's a good reminder that I need to revisit my Japanese pattern books more often before she outgrows them all. So many of the patterns are just delightful.
The fabric is just superb, so soft and cozy. I can't promise myself I won't go back to Fabric Deluxe and check out the third colourway one more time.....
* If you're one of my lovely blog readers who regularly leaves a comment you may have noticed I took away comment moderation for a while. The spam comments were no worse, or better, but without moderation I don't get an email to say you've commented. That meant I may not notice the comment and I certainly couldn't reply by email as I usually like to do. So that's why moderation is back. Not because you need moderating but because I need to chat back at you! Let me know if it works OK for you....xx Shell.
A very pretty dress and Jimmy's is a treasure trove as long as you have an idea what you want.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon, and you're right, but I swear I can always find a dozen things I didn't need but suddenly want whenever I visit Jimmy's buttons too!
DeleteI recently discovered Fabric Deluxe too. It is terrific and also close to one of the kids' activities. The times I'm regularly nearby is when they are closed, which is perhaps a good thing. The dress is a lovely design and very pretty in this fabric. I see a few more trips to Fabric Deluxe in my future.
ReplyDeleteI understand about the comments and finding moderation useful for responding. I like to respond to commenters on my blog too.
Ah yes, Mondays! I recently caught up with BLogless Anna on a Monday and she suggested coming west to visit Fabric Deluxe and Fibresmith. Not on a Monday I;m afraid. It's the new Sunday - which is great for workers and life balance.... Just not for those of us who also have Mondays off and need thread STAT!! :)
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