Tea & Hotdogs: A Red Rooibos

I feel like this poor little dress has been quietly waiting in the wings, patiently biding its time until it could be photographed.

I made this about 2 months ago - I definitely cannot sew to that extent with my blasted cast on. Although I did do some straight stitching on a skirt I already had cut out yesterday. My gosh it felt good to hear the whir of my little machine.

So without further ado, I present the hotdog red Rooibos! It is made from a cotton sateen called 'Hotdog' (from Tessuti Fabrics) and a black cotton voile (some stash fabric that I got from Spotlight for about $2 per metre). 

I had to wear it for our coffee outing - the sun was actually out!

Bess was a bit cranky about not coming for coffee, but she did get a 12k run with Michael and a 5k walk with me today, so we told her to get a grip.

I don't really have anything new to add from when I made my spotty version a while back. On this dress though you can see the details a bit better:

 

When I made the spotty Rooibos, Sunni aka the Cupcake Goddess asked me to a tutorial on how to get the little collar to sit flat. It is super easy, so here is how I did for both versions:

1. Choose a contrasting fabric that is a bit lighter in weight or quite a crisp fabric for the facing (i.e., lightweight cotton or voile).
2. When you get to sewing the shape of the collar, make sure you make the tips of the collar a very sharp point. This may entail sewing the points a few times to get it right.
3. After you have sewn the points, clip and trim as much of the collar off as you dare. Those tips will not be pointy if you don't thoroughly trim.
4. Turn the collar the right way out. Press thoroughly, and if it is not flat and pointy enough, go back in there and trim some more.
5. When you have it lying nice and flat, stitch the collar to the dress. To make it invisible, stitch the underside of the collar (which is the red side on this dress) to the facing (which is black). Then the stitching will not show.
6. When you are doing this, ensure you stitch right up to where the centre of the collar is. This will make it sit completely flat. Also make sure you stitch right down the tips of the collar.

Hope that helps!