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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Sew Bossy Challenge reveal..

After a little bit of delay from my side (anyone else have chronic deadline problems?) Hannah from Made With Hugs and Kisses and I are finally ready for the Sew Bossy Challenge reveal!
Hannah has already posted part 1 of her challenge, and I'm super excited to see what she comes up with next, it has to be a blouse! Why? Because I told her to make one!
Bossy me
The challenge that Hannah had in mind for me was the following:
"I challenge you to experiment with the fabric I have sent you and to create a really girly, possibly even vintage style dress that really utilises both the floral and plain elements of the fabric I have sent you... oh and to try out self covered buttons (obviously only if your chosen pattern calls for buttons :D )"


The fabric I was sent was a beautiful floral print bedsheet, blogged about in this post. The pattern I used for this challenge is the Deer and Doe Bleuet dress. Since this dress needs a lot of small buttons I wasn't able to use the fabric covered ones, but I'm hoping Hannah won't mind this..

Beautiful earrings that Hannah made!
I tried to play around with the border print, I've been wanting to make something with a border print for a while now and this fabric was great for that. Maybe I should have tried to match the print a bit better, but I could hardly squeeze the dress out of the printed part of the fabric as it was, so no matching prints this time. I didn't really love the back right panel as the flower ends quite abruptly but my boyfriend liked it, he said that it accentuates the bow, so I'm leaving it like this :)

The pattern was lovely to work with, it was my first time sewing it and I traced a size 37, next time I'll trace a size 38 as it was too tight in the bust area, and with a shirtdress this really shows. Also the sleeves were a bit too tight. The construction was very straightforward and the instructions were easy to follow. I had to look twice before sewing the sleeve bands, because I wasn't sure which side was the right side.. But I figured it out and it wasn't too hard!

I had minor problems with the collar stand not matching up at the ends and therefore it wrinkles when I close the top button.
See the wrinkle under the top button? And the gaping?
Oops
The buttons are small mother of pearl buttons which I'm really happy with!

Ohh and I learned something else from Hannah: bedsheets can be an awesome fabric source! So when I was in one of our local design shops and saw Hay bedsheets on sale I didn't think twice and took them home with me. They are super soft en have a great abstract print on them. The backside is solid in colour. I've already thought about skirts or dresses that I can make from them :)

The solid colour is a yellow/green lime colour
So thanks Hannah for making me try something new fabric and pattern wise!

What do you guys think about my make? Any tips for my collar stand next time?
I'm super curious to see what Hannah has made, if you're too, check out her blog!

31 comments:

  1. Oh wow!!!!! this has honestly blown me away. Never in a million years would I have thought to team this fabric with that pattern but it works beautifully, and the back panel is inspired, it really does work so listen to your boyfriend :D
    I am so pleased to have introduced you to the endless fabric source - bedsheets! Those you have picked up look very useful, I look forward to seeing what you make :D
    I have thoroughly enjoyed teaming up with you for this challenge, I am sure it won't be the last time we collaborate xxx

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  2. Gorgeous dress and pictures!

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  3. This dress is wonderful! I love the back panels, using the florals here was a brilliant idea. I also love the buttons, I have a thing about buttons! You certainly kept to the challenge.

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  4. I really love the way you worked with that print! Makes your dress look very exclusive. It's gorgeous!

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  5. I love the flower that goes up to the neck! Great bleuet! I found the instructions to add the armband to the sleeve really confusing and weird too!
    As for the collar stand, next time I would try to ease it in, starting with one pin on the center back and pinning the end in place and from their evenly distribute the fabric all around, dividing every part in halves and pinning down and pinning not along the seam/stitch line but perpendicular to it, don't know how you did it?

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  6. Never would have thought to use a border print to make this pattern, but it's pretty genius! It looks great, I love how you placed the flowers on each panel :D

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  7. This is so gorgeous and the way you've used the print is awesome! I have this pattern, I think I might bump it up the queue.

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  8. Very cute! Perfect pattern choice for this dress! I love how you used the border print to kind of "color-block" on the back - very unique and very pretty! :)

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  9. So cute! You did an amazing job with the border print!

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  10. The fabric is really nice and you handled it perfectly. It's a truly beautiful dress.

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  11. That's so pretty, I love the way the flowers go up the back panel, and you've styled it beautifully with your hair up like that. All you need now is an invite to a summer garden party!!

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  12. Yay! Thanks Hannah!! I'm super happy that you're excited about my dress! I'm looking forward to your pattern this weekend and I'm sure we will indeed collaborate another time! I had an awesome time making this dress and picking out fabric for you!

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  13. Thanks Claire! I really like the buttons too, really gives the dress a special sparkle :)

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  14. Thanks Inge! I really had to think about how to use the print before I started cutting out my pattern pieces, but I'm happy it worked out! Thanks again for the give-away, I'm super happy with the pattern and will blog about my winnings soon :)

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  15. Thanks Wendy! I'm glad that I'm not the only one having minor issues with the armband! :) Perpendicular pinning starting at the center back sounds like a great idea, I started on one side and pinned along the stitch line.. Thanks for the suggestion!!

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  16. Thanks! I'm super glad that I finally made a Bleuet after seeing all your gorgeous versions! I pinned your solid one with the print bow for future inspiration :)

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  17. Hahaha! Bumping it up the queue (had to google it to check if I was writing it correctly, looks strange!) sounds like a good idea 'cause I would love to see what kind of Bleuet you'll make!

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  18. Thanks Sally! I hadn't thought about it as being colour blocked, but now I really like the idea of it :)

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  19. Ahh yes a summer garden party sounds wonderful! Unfortunately summer is almost over here in The Netherlands.. Thanks for the compliment, I hadn't worn my hair like that in a long time, but its super easy :)

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  20. Great job ! I love the collar and how you worked the floral print :) Thanks for visiting my blog

    www.ladyhourglass.blogspot.ro

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  21. Thanks! I really liked your beautiful dresses too!

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  22. Love the dress! The little bow, collar and buttons are adorable!

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  23. Thanks Zoe! It really is a super cute pattern from Deer and Doe!

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  24. Your dress is so lovely! I would never have thought of using a border print for this but it is spectacular. I like the placement of the flowers, it looks like you are strolling through a garden. Another dress added to my wardrobe wishlist. And sheets! What a wonderful budget smart idea for someone (like me) who is going to be making alot of toiles/muslins of new dresses and would like to wear them. LOL

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  25. Thanks Cyndi! Sheets make perfect muslins indeed! Strolling through a garden sounds quite good to me, especially with all this rain we've been having in The Netherlands..

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  26. Gorgeous dress, Kim! I would shit my pants if I were send fabric with a border print, but you really made it work!

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