Revisiting the puce floral

Built by Wendy dress revisited

Almost exactly a year ago I made a raglan sleeve dress from the book Built by Wendy. The original post with the finished dress is here. (Here’s where I started the project, and here’s progress part-way through after excessive dithering and indecision.) I wore it last summer and liked it, but every time I put…

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Style 2685: fitted, finished and just fine

Style 2685 finished modelled 1

The yellow dress I started for my favourite 10 year old last weekend is now officially finished. She likes it. The pattern is from 1979, which she considers “olden days”. I thought when I was sewing it, the gathering didn’t seem very full. Although my fabric is a bit crisper than the dress is designed…

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Built by Wendy, FINALLY Sewn by Lizzy

Built by Wendy FINALLY Sewn by Lizzy

It’s been a while coming, but the Built by Wendy sheath dress is….finished?  I wish I could write that it is, and it very nearly is finished.  I had hoped to wear it on the weekend since the weather was hot, but I got stuck on the buttons (more about this below; please keep reading).…

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Built by Wendy meets Puce Floral

Do you remember the Built by Wendy sheath dress I started back in September?  Unfortunately I only got as far as a toile fitting before being paralyzed by fabric and styling indecision. Since then, though, I’ve dug through my extensive fabric collection and come up with a very old cotton sateen pink/purple/puce floral.  I can’t…

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Built by Wendy, Sewn by Lizzy

Built by Wendy Sewn by Lizzy book cover

The arrival of spring weather has given me the urge to sew a summer dress.  Does this happen to you when the season changes? I was also inspired by a library book: Built by Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Making a Girl’s Best Frock.  The book was published in 2010 and has had…

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2017 Christmas Dress

That time has swung around again where Christmas plans are underway.  This of course includes thinking about one’s Christmas day outfit.  I didn’t get around to making anything new last year, but thought I might this year. It’s rare that a garment goes perfectly right first go, but that’s what’s happened this week.  I had…

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THAT blue dress: Vogue 2787

THAT blue dress Vogue 2787 pattern envelope

Regular readers of this blog may remember the blue dress, Vogue 2787, I started making as a possible “author talk outfit”.  Read about when I started it here. The fabric was 50 year old cotton and came from a collection given to me.     I did finish the dress but I never wore it…

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Counting down the days…

Counting down the days

It’s only 4 days until The Dressmaker’s Companion is unleashed on the world, and one week until the book launch at Clare Library. I’ve been busy writing a speech and digging around in the shed for photos to make a power point presentation.  I discovered that from a twenty year career, I have less than…

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