Ok, it’s not summer here, but it sure feels like it – right after I took these pictures yesterday, I pulled on a short-sleeved tshirt & some denim capris and took my bicycle out for a spin. It was LOVELY outside – and today doesn’t look like it’ll be any different. Yay for spring getting a head start this year π
Anyway, here’s a little summer sundress to get us in the mood – sorry if you live in a cold climate, maybe you should move to the South π Ha! I kid, I kid! I can’t wait to wear this dress as God intended – no tights, no cardigan, just some espadrilles and a sweet little rose brooch. I have a feeling this dress will be in heavy rotation for the next few months!
There’s not much to say about this pattern – I’ve already made it twice, so I didn’t have to do any preliminary fitting or a muslin – just cut & go! I did putter around with the pattern, since I had a pretty limited amount of fabric – 1.5 yards of 44″ gingham is exactly enough to cut out this pattern with no sleeves or facings (but still keeping the pockets) in a size 4, FYI. I underlined the entire dress – bodice & skirt – with white cotton batiste to keep everything modest, since my gingham was pretty sheer! Since I didn’t have enough fabric to cut facings, I faced the neck & arms with white bias binding for a clean finish. I did consider lining the dress (as opposed to underlining) so I wouldn’t have to deal with facings at all, but I wanted my batiste to offer a little structure in addition to making things opaque, so I stuck with underlining. As a bonus, it brightened up the colors, too! I also scooped a little out of the neckline so it wasn’t quite so boat-neck, per my inspiration.
I decided to keep the overall look of this dress simple & clean – with pops of yellow to make everything less Dorothy-esque π The yellow belt is a leftover from my first rooibos (man, I miss wearing that dress! GET WARM OUTSIDE!), and the yellow crocheted rose pin is something I made a couple of years ago when I had this crazy idea I was going to crochet a white granny square afghan with yellow roses. Actually, I still want that afghan, but I have too many projects to finish & I hate crocheting anyway π Here is the video I used to make the rose, it’s really easy! I still have a pile of these roses that I need to do something with – maybe I’ll give them away. Dunno!
My sewing room is so tiny, but I just love standing in there & gawking, so I thought y’all might like it too!
I cut the pockets out of gingham as well, so they blend in with the sides of the dress π
Oops, I almost forgot – here is a shot of it without the belt! The checks match up pretty well, if I do say so myself π
This is the best close-up I could get – every single other one of my pictures turned out super dark π¦
It cracks me up how my dresses look post-FBA when they are hanging or flat – they have little built-in boobs! HAHA!
You may have noticed that the zipper is bright yellow. I did not have a white 22″ zipper on hand, but I did have yellow! And it goes with my overall theme – not to mention that pretty burst of color when it’s unzipped! I love colorful little surprises like that π
I just wanted to share my check-matching at the zipper. That’s as close to perfect as I could get! I know the checks don’t line up at the waistband – it’s due to the back darts. The fronts & side seams match up, though – you can’t win ’em all!
Yellow lace on the inside of the hem π
The flea market was kind of mehhh this weekened, but I did score at the thrift – look at this beauty I picked up~
100% silk, in the most gorgeous shade of teal – $2! It’s a skirt, but it’s fairly large & long, and the seams are very simple. Cutting it apart yielded about 1 3/8 yard of 36″ fabric – plus the silk lining & zipper. Also, I bought a cashmere cardigan (not pictured) for $4. YUS THRIFT.
I’m speechless! Love, love, love absolutely everything about it. The picture of the yellow lace hem almost made me weep! x
Love it! The pops f sunshine yellow make it extra fun too – nice job π
It turned out great! I’m inspired to give this pattern a go, now. (Not to mention gingham.)
Absolutely adorable. And you have done a magnificent job of matching the checks. Can’t wait to see what you do with that lovely teal.
Lauren you are the peony queen. This is unbelievably gorrrrrrgeous. Love everything about it. You clever thing, you
That dress is perfect! I LOVE the bright colors, and the yellow lace on the hem is too good! It’s awesome. Great job as per usual π
Cute!
And I love the idea of an afghan made with those yellow roses! Yes, please!
Oh this is just too cute! I love this! I long for spring as well, and this is just perfect. It’s like Dorthy was like, screw Kansas, I want to see the world!
so pretty, and i love the larger gingham check – beautiful colours – just lush. I’m hoping spring is just around the corner here in somerset, but i won’t hold my breath – nevermind more time to sew before summer!
So cute and summery! The details are just gorgeous!
Eeek, I want this dress and the flower brooch. Adorable
I love the blue and yellow colour combination! Gorgeous dress, and nice and springy.
So pretty and summery! Good job on the matching too.
Ooh I can’t wait to have a pattern I have the fit perfect on so I can whip it up really fast, and have fun experimenting with different fabrics! Yours looks so great π You fit soo well π
So pretty and not Dorothy-like at all! π Great job on the matching!
Lauren that is super-super-cute I love it. The pops of yellow are inspired – great colour call!
I wish I could find that scale gingham around here, I’ve seen so many great projects done with it and yours is gorgeous! Love your first Rooibos too, infact it was the version that made me finally go out and get that pattern and make it myself, I really want to make another too π
BAHAHA! I totally know what you mean about the ‘built in boobs’ thing… I was thinking the same thing about my Pastille muslin yesterday! LOL!!
I know it sounds dumb but I really love the lining, it looks super soft and comfy – obviously I love the colours and the pretty parts too, but that just really stood out to me as saying “WEAR ME!” ^__^
Please send some of your warm weather up here, we got snow yesterday! LOL
The dress fits you perfectly. I love it!! Good job
Bravo on the stripe matching abd the color combination. It looks great!
Absolutely adorable. I love the blue white and yellow. I used bias binding on the hem of my full circle skirt recently and it looked great. I feel inspired to used bias binding for necks and sleeves too after seeing your dress. I’m a beginner sewist and I have not yet learnt how to “underline” a dress. Is there much technique involved? I’ve made many lined dresses before but not underlined. Have u ever blogged a tutorial on underlining? π
Underlining is pretty simple – you just cut the underlining out using the same pattern pieces as your fashion fabric, stack them together & sew around the edges (within the seam allowance) to keep them together. Some people underline by hand because it’s easier to keep things nice and flat; I did this by machine just because it was faster. If you underline by machine, make sure you sew off the edge when you get to the end of each side (instead of putting your needle down & pivoting) – it’ll keep the fabric flat so it doesn’t bunch. When all your underlined pieces are sewn to your fashion pieces, mark your darts & other markings and then treat the pieces as if they are one piece of fabric π
omg. adorable! π
Cute…
So pretty, and love the yellow zip and lace hem! Great details.
So flipping cute. I love the pops of yellow with the blue gingham! It’s so divinely summery. You have the best eye for color.
Lovely!! This looks wonderfully summery on you! You’ve got me inspired to get some gingham out of my drawer …
It’s beautiful! How do you make things so fast, and sooooo well too?! Roll on Spring and sunshine… Please?
This looks great on you! love the colur combo, spring is definitely in the air…can’t believe I’ve tried to make this dress but had so many fitting issues with the bodice I’ve had to put it to one side while I recover…this is so inspiring to go and pick it back up and try again π
Ha, yeah, the bodice fitting gave me some serious head-scratching, but I think it was worth it in the end π Now I can whip these out in no time!
This is fantastic. I have been wanting to make this pattern for ages but now I am definitely going to buy it. Wonder if it will work as well in a jersey type fabric? Your garments never fail to look less than perfect. Great job. π
Ooh, that is a good question. I think jersey might be too drapey for this style, but I’d be very interested to see how it turns out if you do try it!
Love the yellow with the blue and white check – and the summer thoughts. Its damned cold here this morning so I suspect the long sunny days are well on the wane in NZ. Rock on merino and winter then :o).
Thanks also for the knit session post – I hope you had a coffee or two while you were drafting that baby. Most useful it was too.
Gorgeous dress! You’re so cute!
Now I want a gingham dress too! And I love all the inside photos, the dress is as beautiful inside as the outside!
Adorable! This dress alone should appease the gods enough to bring Spring early everywhere (let’s hope!). I love the yellow accents. The entire outfit just looks cheerful.
PS. Love the cat in the window.
Hehe that is “her” spot- God forbid I try to move her, unless I want to deal with the textbook definition of a hissy fit π
cute as usual! the blue and yellow looks great together. and i also love your sewing room!
Ridiculous cute! I love it!
Lovely! The dress looks so great! Plus, great finds at the thrift store!
xo,
Em
It’s just gorgeous – so crisp and fresh!!!
That dress is adorable! ADORABLE! If I could make the font bigger I would!! Aaaah so wonderful. Surely spring will arrive sooner just so you can wear this more.
I love the gingham (blue is a fav of mine) and I’m amazed at how well yellow and blue to together.
Awesome dress. Just awesome. This is going to be all over Pinterest I’m sure π !
You did a great, great job! I absolutely love the blue in the gingham with the yellow in the zipper and lace trim. Bravo! I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve next!
Looks awesome! I wish it were summer here already.
Lovely dress, And I love the styling, you really did succeed in avoiding the Dorothy-esque look!
On a completely unrelated note, I was given the Liebster Blog award and wanted to share it with you Lauren as you’re the source of so much inspiration, as well as techniques! I hope you don’t mind?
http://vickikatemakes.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/liebster-blog-award-pour-moi/
OMG it’s soooo cute! Definitely gonna rock some gingham for spring too.
Love it! The yellow accents totally keep the Dorothy effect at bay–super cute and summery!
Huge gingham love!!!
Love love love it! I haven’t shared my finished Peony dress (from way back in November!) cause I couldn’t get the fit quite right– I thought it looked good, but looking at photos from my sister’s wedding, I kinda had back boobs in it! Noooooooooooo! I started another one right before Christmas, but the fit isn’t perfect on that one either, and I just. can’t. make. myself. sew. it. Ugh! Yours is so perfect! It’s inspirational! LOVE the blue gingham with the yellow! Is it summer yet????????
This is quite possibly the cutest little summer dress I’ve ever seen! You look gorgeous in it Lauren and as always, I love your attention to detail! D.E.L.I.G.H.T.F.U.L!!!
This is beautiful. My favourite Peony ever. How do you stich the lace onto the hem (I love this part of your dress) without it showing on the front?
Sarah
The lace is sewn to the right side of the skirt with a small seam allowance, and then flipped back to the inside of the skirt, pressed, and slip-stitched to the underlining π
And thank you!
Love it! Love, love, love it!
I want one! π lol. Love this to death–there is something so cute about gingham dresses; I wore my pink one TO DEATH last summer, and am thinking I need a green or blue gingham something this summer. (Er… not that I *need* any more summer clothes after three years in the tropical climate of Florida, but even with the shortened summer season here I just know I’ll manage to add some *more* dresses to my already bloated summer stash. haha!) The yellow touches are so cute–I think it’s great when other sewers use zippers that don’t match because I totally do that all the time and feel like a dork. π lol.
I’m working on my Peony muslin – out of curiosity, did you use your high or full bust measurement to choose the size + FBA?
I used my high bust & then added a FBA to match my full bust measurements π Hope this helps!
Awesome! Thanks! π
Super Nice!!
2012, you’ve come a long way baby! Well I want to make my Peony pattern and found not one but three of your versions. I follow you these days so its so cute to see these oldies but goodies, just look how cute your dresses came out! And how cute you look!Totally adorable posts!
Aw, thank you! β₯