Flowery floatness with photo overload

In my last post I mentioned that I made another dress for my friends' wedding. I usually like to have a back-up dress cos things happen... This time I was more worried about the weather - the wedding was in Hervey Bay in Queensland, Australia and I could expect anything between 25C - 40C! My first idea was to make a maxi dress but none of the patterns I have was right. Besides I don't  like maxi dresses. I like the idea of them but I don't really wear  them ;) 

Then I came across Burda 8/2014 and dress number 116 with open back and high-low skirt. It was also a perfect match for pink flowery rayon (viscose) I bought at the Fabric Warehouse a few weeks earlier. The dress in theory should be an easy make and it would be if it wasn't for the fabric I chose and stupid mistake I made.

Long story short after I made a muslin I decided I needed to deal with gaping neckline and somehow managed to take out too much so the top was really, really tight. If I was non-breathing vampire it could work ;) Also using the same rayon for lining almost drove me crazy!!! Not to mention cutting the fabric itself. Anyway I had to recut the top and use different fabric for lining. The only semi-suitable thing I had was some synthetic stripy something from my stash. It worked really nicely and I finally decipher what that wooden spoon method from Burda is!

Changes? I lowered the neckline by 3-4 cm and adjusted it so there was no gaping. Instead of using facing for the drawstring casing I used white satin bias tape as cutting thin piece from rayon was a nightmare.
After all I love this dress! I love the colours and the shape. I love how full the back skirt is. It was very comfortable to wear and dance for hours! I will be wearing it for various occasions this summer!

The photos were taken on the Pier in Urangan. My friends'wedding took place on the beach just near there. After they went to take photos me and my partner decided to take a stroll. The pier is really long but it provided nice background for blog photos ;) As you can see it was quite windy and I had to keep an eye on my hat and my dress to avoid Marilyn Monroe moment.

And a bonus:

Also I got a big surprise today. I was mentioned by Rhonda in the Wednesday Showcase on Rhonda's Creative Life blog :) Thank you!!!

Feeling blue

Blue is one of my favourite colors. I like most of its shades but royal blue is undoubtedly the winner! I snapped 2 meters of this cotton fabric at the Fabric Warehouse sale for $3/m with no plans for it - I simply liked the color. Then I got invited to friends' wedding and "had" to make myself a new dress. This model (109 Burda 5/2014) caught my attention straight away. I was a bit afraid that huge cleavage could be risky with my built but if I don't try I'll never know, right?

The dress itself was easy to make (and I skipped the pockets which definitely helped). It wouldn't take much time if I hadn't make some stupid mistake and had to spend some time finding a solution to my problem. I didn't want to line my dress as the wedding was taking place in November in Australia which meant it would be hot or very hot. I was also to lazy to make facings. I used bias tape to finish the neckline but it was a bad choice - it wasn't stretchy enough and it was too thick for curved lines and looked terrible. It didn't stop me from trimming my seam allowances... stupid, stupid, stupid! I had to trim and clip that bias tape and then find a way to cover my mess. I came across ric-rac and hand-stitched it to finish the edge. Not the most beautiful solution but I made the best out of a bad mistake.

I made no changes to the construction. I have two issues with my dress - the neckline is quite wide and it slips off my shoulders sometimes. I'm planning on attaching a ribbon on the back to hold it in place. The other issue is the side look... I'm not sure if that's only my shape that makes it look bad or there is something I can do to make it look better. 

Contrary to my plans I didn't actually wear it for that wedding. I made another dress that I decided was more suitable for the occasion and the weather. I will blog it soon :) 

I really like this dress. I like the cleavage that let me show off my assets without being vulgar. The tulip bottom nicely balances the top and I like it's shape. I will most likely use the top and bottom parts again in different projects. I think the top part with circle bottom would look great! 

The dress is all wrinkled but I was too lazy to iron it just for 5 minutes of taking photos... Also who the hell irons things on holiday, right?

I think that lining the dress would fix the problem in the back but would add another layer of fabric that I wanted to avoid. If it's not lack-of-lining problem then I guess it's a bit too small across the back and needs extra 1-2 cm. On the other hand I only noticed it on the photos so it might be less obvious in real life.

I'm not pregnant!!!

Piggy bag aka instant gratification project

I'm not the biggest fan of sewing tote bags. They are easy and practical but there is not much fun in making them. This one was started last year when I cut the fabric, sew almost everything together and then left it in the darkest corner of my sewing corner. Two weeks ago, just before going on holiday I realized that I really needed a tote bag. Finishing the project took me 10 min (!) and it was perfect for countless hours of walking in Sydney - it held 2 little bottles of water, tube of sunscreen and all my souvenir shopping ;)
I bought this piggy canvas in Spotlight ages ago. I just love that print! The fabric is quite sturdy so I wasn't afraid to pack BBQ supplies (including bottles of cider & beer) in there. The only think that I hadn't thought much of were white stripes - not ideal as they get dirty very quickly... Hopefully washing machine will fix that problem. Construction of the bag is very simple, even the pocket is very easy and fast to make. Last year I made several bags just like this one and I believe it takes around 30-40 min for one be made - including cutting the fabric! Perfect instant gratification project!