Tuesday 10 May 2016

A long-sleeved dress in linen

I made R this long-sleeved elastic-waist dress in a beautiful subtly striped linen. "It's a Laura dress!" R exclaimed excitedly when she saw it. I wasn't convinced - after all, it doesn't have a frilly collar, a full skirt or a high neckline - but then she showed me an episode from the first season of Little House on the Prairie and to my surprise, there was Laura in an almost identical dress. The connection to R's (current) favourite character means the dress has been well-received and will probably be a winter favourite.


The pattern is from one of the A Sunny Spot books and is a wonderfully easy sew. I made two small modifications: I took a couple of centimetres off the centre of both front and back to suit R's build and ensure that the neckline wasn't too wide, and I used a snap at the back rather than a button. The dress has neckline facings that are sewn down, creating a nice stitch-line on the dress.



R was not in a modelling mood on the weekend so I had to settle for a few quick snaps outside the dumpling restaurant that we took my mum to for her 70th birthday/mother's day lunch (AND I had to crop out R's cousin, who arrived just as I was taking the photos - he is gorgeous, but I didn't think he'd appreciate being on my blog!). It was a reasonably mild day, but as the temperature drops I think this linen dress will also look great with tights and a cardigan - or maybe a coat, if I can choose a pattern from the many different ones that are calling me!

8 comments:

  1. Ahhhhh! I love it! I would absolutely wear this myself! It's fantastic that she identified it as a "Laura Dress" - I have a hard time selling plainer cuts and fabrics to my daughter, but perhaps if I turned her on to Little House on the Prairie, right?! So pretty.

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    1. Inder, I was keeping that fabric for myself but it seemed too good a match with the dress (I might have to go buy a couple of extra metres now so I can have my own 'Laura dress' one day). And yes, Little House is great - especially the books - but beware, Maggie might take a fancy to petticoats and pioneer bonnets :)

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  2. Oh me too! Is there a kids tv channel that shows only characters wearing linen and neutrals?! :)
    It's a great dress and will look fantastic with tights and boots on a day like, well, like today was.
    I have a hard time with choosing which girl's coat to sew. Do many lovely patterns, so little time.
    Are you coming to the Dressmakers Do?

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    1. Ha ha, wouldn't it be great if you could just order up a riveting kids' show where they all wear exactly what you want to sew for your kids! For the past few months I've been pointing out any appealing characters with shoulder-length hair in the hope of getting R to let me cut hers, but no luck so far... And Dressmakers Do? What is that?

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  3. What a lovely dress. I had a giggle at your daughter's response to the dress :) Whatever works hehe

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  4. Lovely dress! It looks so comfy.

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  5. This dress is SO perfect and is on my own sewing-to-do list too :-)

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