pretty sure the peony is my new favorite TNT dress, y’all. it is SO easy to make up – even with matching plaids! – and extremely versatile in all the ways you can change it up. i am already thinking about making a summertime-approps peony with a chiffon overlay & no sleeves. oooh i just inspired myself again.
anyway, before i get ahead of myself, let’s focus on the peony at hand. this is my second make up, floral being the first. in addition to the previous alterations i made to the pattern, i shaved about 1/2″ off the front neckline, as i felt it was a tiny bit too high. i omitted the facings & instead lined the bodice & sleeves. i wanted to line the entire dress, but i only had 1 yard so it was either sleeves or skirt… i went with sleeves, because i can always wear a slip with the skirt.
the plaid fabric is my new favorite! i bought it from miss lauren winter right before she moved house (and, sadly, out of my neighborhood ::sob!::), although considering she charged me $2 for the whole 2 yards it’s more like she basically gave it to me. it is a very fine/soft wool, super drapey & comfortable. the lining is a pale periwinkle blue bemberg rayon that i found in the remnant rack for super duper cheap & i’ve been hoarding for like a year.
i was concerned that this dress wasn’t totally appropriate for plaid, but i think i did an ok job at matching. this pattern really doesn’t use a lot of fabric – even with matching up the plaids, i used less than 2 yards. the side seams match perfectly (if i do say so myself) and surprisingly the darts match up. well, kind of. the bottoms don’t, but that’s just the way they are positioned. furthermore, the waistline doesn’t exactly match up & again, that’s because of how the pattern was drafted. i can’t decide if it bothers me or not. in the meantime, i’ll just wear a belt and pretend otherwise.
i actually cut out the pieces for the cummerbund (in navy taffeta), but decided to go thrifting last night instead of sewing it up. it’s all good, though – look at the belt i got for $3!
the dark vertical line is actually part of the plaid, and not my invisible zipper, fyi.
here it is without the belt
ooh the mismatched plaid at the darts actually is really bothering me
sorry ’bout the rogue white thread lurking back there
really pleased with myself here – i figured out how to attach the lining without having to slipstitch it to the zipper tape. so clean!
tiniest hem ever – this dress is SHORT!
and some bonus shots…
with my lady grey
a result of gertie’s sew-along last year, my first venture into tailoring. this baby is lined, interlined, padstitched… and it is nice & heavy, just like a coat should be 😉
LOVEEEE THIS COAT
and, in case you were curious:
my shoes 🙂
i have the whole week off next week, and i think i’ve already overwhelmed myself with all the sewing projects i want to tackle. we’ll see how many actually get accomplished, though 😉 hehe
LLADYBIRD 
I’m getting so inspired by your makes and the fabric you choose. I love this- looks perfect for winter, esp if you’ve such a wonderful lady grey to wear outside. 🙂
I didn’t think I could love this more than your last one but I do. My favorite version of this dress, by far.
The dress is cute, but I LOVE the coat! Did you think the coat was hard to make? I have only been sewing a few years, but if I were to make the coat I would do the sewalong… only a year late!
it wasn’t hard at all! just time-consuming and a bit expensive (although it could be done for cheaper – i just bought really expensive everything lol). you can still follow the sew-along – just click the button on my sidebar. all the info is still on her blog and it is a total goldmine.
Thanks so much!!! Maybe I will have it done in time for winter 2012 haha.
Jealous. I’d wear this dress in a heartbeat. Can’t get myself to cough up the money for Colette patterns, though! What’s wrong with me? They’re perfect.
I think I like this version better than the first one actually. Very nice, and with the belt, you can’t see the mismatched plaid issue (though it’s not really all that noticeably anyway).
You are so fast! Another wonderful fall/winter dress for me to envy. Yes, I think I must buy this pattern.
Oh how cute, love the plaid!!!! Looks great with your Lady Grey coat too. You are such a fast stitcher…wow!!!
Gorgeous! And the shoes are great.
I REALLY like it, and did not even notice the plaid at the darts until the photos of it flat. I found a vintage wedding dress in this style, it was great serendipity just days after after swooning over your floral peony!
I love it to bits! I love it more than the floral one! Fantastic pattern placement.
I want that dress. Gah. Love, love, LOVE the plaid. Immensely.
I love this dress!
This dress is gorgeous – the plaid is perfect for this time of year. I wasn’t initially sold on the Peony, but seeing all your versions is definitely winning me over. And wow, you can whip things up so fast, I am tres jealous!
You are like Speedy Gonzalez with a sewing machine! Man, this is just lovely, I would wear the hell out of this. I didn’t even notice the bust dart issue until you pointed it out, so I wouldn’t worry about it, this looks great. I can’t decide if I like it better with or without the belt. Decisions, decisions….
Ack, I love the plaid! Girl, you are a machine of fashion and awesomeness! As always, great job!
Oh my god I love this dress. Are you sure you only had two yards of that fabric? Absolutely beautiful! I really need to grips with lining a dress – haven’t done it yet and have DA FEAR.
For some reason when I used pointy brackets my previous comment omitted this bit (will use stars instead) *Gets on plane, drives to Lauren’s house, rifles though garage* That is all.
yeah, i was really surprised that i was able to squish it out of so little yardage! and i didn’t even have to do any kind of fancy layouts to get everything on there. super win.
and lining is EASY. as easy as putting in a facing. promise!
Oh lovely lovely lovely dress. I beamed when I scrolled down and saw the first pic, it’s even better than I was expecting. The lining is a gorgeous colour too. x
Like Suzie said, I wasn’t bowled over by the Peony pattern before but you have totally sold it with this version! I’d wear it in a heartbeat.
I can’t believe how cute that plaid fabric is! Beautiful dress, it looks great on you.