Wednesday, January 14, 2015

A Pretty Dress for a Day at the Cricket

Every year my husband attends the 5 day cricket test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.  Day three of the test is Ladies Day, also called the Pink Day, because the idea is that everyone wears pink and donates to the McGrath Foundation - a breast cancer charity.

I like to make an outfit every year for this special day.  Last year I made one, and had my own tea party because I wasn't well enough to attend the day (you can read about it here).  This year I wasn't really sure if I'd be going, but I thought I'd make a dress anyway.

I had recently purchased some amazing vintage rayon fabric, and some of it was pink with the best novelty print of ladies wearing fabulous hats.


I had also recently received some reproduction patterns from Eva Dress (if you haven't looked at their website, you should!).  This dress pattern seemed like just the thing to wear on a hot summer's day.


My fabric, being vintage, was narrow, and by the yardage chart on the pattern, I didn't have enough, but only just.  Sigh!  I started out by laying my fabric out on the floor and seeing if I could make the pattern pieces fit.


Its like a giant jigsaw puzzle!  It took me quite a few goes to find something that worked.  I even tried the layouts included with the pattern - and I never do that!  I eventually found the winning combination, and it meant having a seam in the sleeve.  And I couldn't match the pattern either, so I just hoped that the fullness would hide it all.


Construction of this dress is so amazingly straight-forward!  Almost too simple - and I started to worry that without darts at the waist, it would look like a potato sack.



But the response on my facebook page was to trust the pattern and keep going.  Apparently a lot of 40s dresses look like sacks on hangers but look magical on.  I own lots - how had I never noticed!!!  And worst comes to worst I could add darts in when it was all finished anyway...

The last big decision was the bow.

To bow or not to bow.  That was the question.

The dress sat on my headless helper for a good week and a half while I tried to make a decision.  Eventually I realised that it was part of the pattern for a reason, so I should make it and pin it on and then see what I thought.


The decision was a resounding YES!  Without it the dress seemed unfinished, but with it, it sang.

So I finished off the hand sewing and wore it to the cricket!



Steve is a member of the SCG IX, which is a special club within a club for members that play cricket for the SCG.  Each year we have a special area - and this year it was a fabulous white summerhouse with a view of a big screen and right by a bar.  The only thing it was missing was a jacuzzi!!!  It was a lovely place to sit, and I felt lovely and glamorous all day!

Yes, I did actually watch some cricket...  I didn't just socialise.

Its lovely to see so many people get involved for this cause too - I didn't see one person NOT wearing pink, and so many people go to a great deal of effort with their outfits.  I met the son of a friend who was really my kind of person - I mean, just look at his hat!


I had a great day, and this dress ticked all the boxes - pretty and elegant, easy to sew, and comfortable to wear.  I can see at least two more of these in my future!

How about you?  Tempted to sew yourself one?

Beccie
xxx

17 comments:

  1. Its so gorgeous - and that bow really makes it. Sometimes, you really do just have to trust the pattern. Cant wait to see more iterations of this one!

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  2. Oh, wow! This dress is amazing! The fabric is so perfect and the pattern is darling! I really, really like how it all turned out, and yes, the bow really makes the finishing touch. I am so tempted to buy this pattern now, I'd really like to make this dress up! ❤

    xox,
    bonita of Lavender & Twill

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  3. Beautiful dress, the fabric is lovely and I really like the addition of the bow. Great Job!

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  4. You look gorgeous! and the fabric print is amazing :D

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  5. Your dress looks wonderful! I love, love, love the fabric!
    -Emily

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  6. Oh so tempted! I am in love with that flutter sleeve right now!

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  7. Oh this dress is amazing!!! Congratulations, exactly the right garment for such a lovely occasion.

    I would love to make one for myself, maybe this should be my to do for 2015!

    But where do you always get these gorgeous fabrics???

    Kathi

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  9. You look gorgeous! That style looks lovely on you :)

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  10. Absolutely beautiful dress. SO proud you had such a good time.

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  11. It came out absolutely gorgeous! What wonderful fabric. It always feels great when you try a bunch of different layouts with skimpy yardage and finally can get it to work, ha ha. Love the photo with the hat too!

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  12. That fabric print is gorgeous and is perfect for the occasion. You have made a great dress, the bow is definitely a yes!

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  13. I'm in love with this dress and I'll definitely be looking out for this pattern! So glad I've found your blog - keep up the amazing work!

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  14. Love the fabric! When you first see it and it just looks like bunches of flowers it's already nice, but then noticing that it's actually got a face in there! I love those vintage fabrics and their special extra details.

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