Tuesday 9 October 2012

KCWC - Day 1

Well I am covering three categories with this post; it is Day one for KCWC, Day 9 of Blogtoberfest and pattern one of my pattern stash-busting

I spent the first hour of KCWC putting the finishing touches to this little summer dress for Miss L.

It's none of the patterns I showed you on the stash-busting post though - it comes from one of my beloved Ottobre magazines. So it still counts, as it's a pattern I have never used and was even from a magazine I have never used.

These colours make me feel summery, even if the temperature is not yet!
This is made from some Paula Prass Flights of Fancy fabric that I have been hoarding for ages, waiting for just the right project.

The dress has lots of lovely details that made it fun to make, pleats, invisible zip, piping on the princess-line seams and cute little gathered shoulder straps.

Flat piping highlights the princess-line seams of the bodice
I enjoy having a challenging project on the go - it makes me feel like I am really making something special for my little girl.

I chose to do the straps and waistband in contrast, so I omitted the piping from above the waistband as I felt it would have been lost, given they would have been made in the same fabric.

Now that invisible zip is perhaps the most invisible one yet.
I don't want to get ahead of myself but after procrastinating a bit about the zip I went ahead and did it and it went in perfectly on the first attempt. Phew!!
Could it be that I am getting the hang of them at last...

Here is the design in the Ottobre magazine
The dress is design 30 'Trumpet Flower" from the Summer 3/2012 edition of Ottobre. See this post for details of how I store my Ottobre patterns once I have traced them out.

I made the 134cm as Miss L is 131cm tall , but then I took a total of 4cm out of the bodice to get it to fit her! I should have made a smaller size and lengthened it but luckily it was relatively easy to alter.

Lining gives the dress nice body and adds to the twirl factor
I used a very boring white waffle for the lining.
It's not something you would traditionally use for a lining as it's a little heavy but I had it on hand and I wanted to be sure the dress would not be see-through.

It does provide the dress with a lovely fullness and it's nice and soft against her skin.

Here's the edition so you know what you are looking for!
Today I am planning to trace the next dress out - a Croquet dress, and also cut a cute little jacket to go with this dress.
The fabric for the jacket is what I used for the background in the dress shots, so I know it is going to match really well.

The girls are back at school today after our term break so I will try to get some action shots at some point...

How'd you go on Day 1 of KCWC, get much done??

13 comments:

thornberry said...

Oh WOW Karen, that is absolutely beautiful! I'm sure that it will look stunning on her. What lovely craftswomanship!

Shell said...

Hi Karen, gorgeous dress! Just found your blog, I'm doing KCWC too. I'll be having much more of a looky, I love your fabric choices & the whole look & feel.

Unknown said...

It's beautiful, Karen. I love the piping detail.

I was wondering about using the KCWC and your pattern destash in conjunction. I don't have a lot of kids clothes patterns stashed away because most of them are Ottobre and most of the others have been used before. There are heaps of Otto patterns I haven't done and want to though, so I'll start pulling some of those out. I guess it's about making stuff without buying new patterns, or using what you've already bought.

Kylie said...

That looks amazing Karen. I too am scared of zips and something that I really should overcome. (one day)
A cute little knitted cardi would look adorable with that. (maybe we should organise a trade swap)

rachelmp said...

This is just beautiful Karen. I love it when I see such lovely age appropriate clothes that we can make

justmejay said...

This is such a special dress - your stitching is just perfect

Caroline said...

Karen, I just love this dress. I love the fact it's super girly and it's not pink!

sophie said...

I love it so much!!! I have just discovered piping and it is such a great detail.

Little Munchkins said...

Looks great Karen! You know how I like to make dresses for A for her birthdays? This was one of the patterns I had in mind!

ARTwendy ... said...

stunning ... i am in awe! Miss L will adore it i am sure!

Clare Maree said...

What a beautiful dress, and that fabric is just gorgeous. I have sewn a few things from Burda magazines (but only with the help of my sewing teacher to decipher the instructions), but I like that Ottobre's children's patterns seem to go up to bigger sizes. Are the instructions easier to understand than Burda?

Tanya said...

What a work of art! Gorgeous detail, love that piping, love that you have a girl who will LOVE it x

Sally said...

Gorgeous. Love all the details. I've stopped my Ottobre subscription for the time being... so many patterns in the editions that I own that I am still yet to make!!! So much inspiration and ambition - so little time. Boo-hoo!