I've made a little sundress for myself :) in very fine, light handkerchief-grade linen from Fabulous Fabrics, deep browny/olive green. I asked my husband how to describe the colour and he replied immediately "Sherman tank", haha. Hmmm!I've been told a zillion million times that I should wear drab colours, but I struggled with them for years. My teenage self desperately loved pretty feminine colours, hey it was the 80's; and I thought muddy sombre colours like this were horrible and ugly, like the exact opposite of pretty. *sigh* Anyway. I've learnt to embrace couleur de Sherman tank.
I added a little bit of pretty in the form of some cream lace-y motifs appliquéd around the lower hem edge. I cut the motifs from a quite thickish, lace-y fabric and hand-stitched them on to look kinda random and rambling and lending some semblance of froth and frivolity... I think the lace was maybe from Spotlight originally, but honestly I've actually forgotten where it came from exactly.
I sewed all seams throughout as French seams
And it is included in the bundle of patterns to be sold as a set for Sew Indie Month.
What is Sew Indie Month? do I hear you ask? well it is in September this year and has a charitable component, yes, we all joke about sewing selfishly and this is seamsters trying to give a little bit back! The lowdown...
- The idea behind Sew Indie Month is to create a global community sewing event, sort of like a big, online sewing workshop, if you like, while simultaneously supporting small women-owned businesses and raising money for charity. During the month of September, pattern designers are collaborating on the Sew Independent site to put together blog posts and informative tutorials; and a terrific bonus is a sewalong contest with prizes! Sew Indie Month is co-ordinated this year by Mari from Seamster Sewing Patterns
- The pattern bundle is available to buy here, and the sale will run from Monday 3rd August to Wednesday 12th August.
- 20% of bundle proceeds will be donated to the International Folk Art Alliance, which provides education and exhibition opportunities to folk artists from around the world. Just a few examples of what the International Folk Art Alliance has been able to accomplish by helping artists create stable, year-round livelihoods includes helping shelter women from domestic violence in Ecuador, building a school for children in Pakistan, empowering women in repressive cultures around the world, and feeding villages in Niger.
- You can check out all the details and information on participating patterns and the pricing options, here; on the Sew Independent site
- Almond Rock
- CarmencitaB
- Casa Crafty
- Girls in the Garden
- Grey's Fabric & Notions
- House of Pinheiro
- How Good is That?
- Idle Fancy
- Lucky Lucille
- Miss Crayola Creepy
- Pretty Girls Sew
- Scruffy Badger Time
- Sew Busy Lizzy
- Sew Sweetness
- Ten Thousand Hours of Sewing
- Thread Theory
- Workroom Social
Please do check them out; remember, it's for a very good cause :)
Mark on the pattern piece a slanted line where you want the top of your pocket to sit, and another horizontal line to mark the bottom of the pocket edge. Instead of cutting the side front as one piece, cut three pieces:
1. piece at left, upper S (side) front, from the top edge of the pattern piece to the bottom edge of the marked pocket allowance, plus seam allowance,
2. middle piece, pocket; from the top edge of the slanted pocket line to the lower edge of the pocket allowance, plus seam allowances top and bottom.
3. piece at right; lower S front; from the slanted pocket line plus seam allowance, to the lower edge of the pattern piece. It's a good idea to add an extra, say, 4-5cm in length to the lower edge to allow for possible boo-boos in seaming, just in case.
Transfer all notches and new marks to all pieces.
btw; please know that, as always, there are no affiliate links on my blog and never will be. I received the patterns free, for me to make an item to help spread the word, and I chose to use the Mississippi dress pattern :)
Details:
Dress; the Mississippi Avenue dress by Sew House Seven; in deep olive linen with cream lace appliqué
Hat; Vogue 8844, cream cotton corduroy, details and my review of this pattern here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes
