Saturday, September 7, 2013

Belladone ... My Belle

Frocktails was last night! What fun it was. Unfortunately I am a slacker and didn't get any photos of the event ..... I'm sure they'll be popping up in blogland pretty soon!

This post is therefore about my dress! I decided to make the Deer and Doe Belladone dress. I have wanted to make this dress since seeing PoppyKettle's Blue Version. How gorgeous!

After much toiling, this is what I came up with!


Isn't that fabric divine? It is a stretch cotton from Tessuti. Pretty heavy weight. I can't find it on the Tessuti website but I bought it about two months ago with this dress specifically in mind.



The binding is silk crepe de chine, also from Tessuti. It was very difficult to find a coordinating binding! Thank you to Anna and Lisa for helping me choose.


So.... the dress. Holy moly did I have to make some adjustments. I started with a size 38, and this is what I did:
  1. Lowered the bust dart by 1.5cm (next time I will lower even more). 
  2. Took 2cm total out of the front neckline.
  3. Overlapped the back pieces by 9.5cm!! Weird as I am broad-shouldered.
  4. Took 3cm total out of the lower back neck edge.
  5. Added 1.5cm to the hem.
Here are some pictures of the altered pieces:



I also drafted facings instead of finishing them as per the pattern. I don't 'trust' an unlined dress at the best of times, and this dress relies on the bodice sitting beautifully and sturdily, so I decided to face it. This meant there was a lot of bulk in some of the bodice seams, so I catch-stitched the seams down so they lay flat. 



I'm glad I made the effort with the bodice - because look! No gaping! 



I am really happy with this dress! The fabric is divine and it was really nice to sew a fitted frock that is a bit fancy!


 I'm not sure I'll make this pattern again, but I am glad I have sewed it. What a lovely little frock it is. I wore it with my new Camper wedges and some Mimco studs. And a winter coat, because Melbourne weather sucks and it was cold!

I had a lot of fun - my highlights were meeting Renae from the Long and Winding Bobbin, consuming a ginger martini that was the bomb, and chatting to all the wonderful sewists who attended. My goodness the frocks that were worn were TO DIE FOR! Sequins, silks, rayons, laces..... I was in heaven. Thank you Kat for organising such a fantastic night!

EDITED TO ADD: I also forgot to say a massive thank you to Lara for taking my photos, giving me a lift and being a great friend!


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19 comments:

  1. thornberrySeptember 7, 2013 at 10:17 PM

    As always it was a pleasure to spend an evening in your company chatting sewing! And your dress is just perfect - you looked wonderful.

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    1. RachelSeptember 8, 2013 at 3:34 PM

      Thanks Lara! I had such a fun time with you - as always!

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  2. KatSeptember 7, 2013 at 11:21 PM

    Love love loved it! I'm so glad I got to meet you. Your dress was absolutely stunning. I love the fabric and the binding was the perfect match.

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    1. RachelSeptember 8, 2013 at 3:35 PM

      Kat! It was so wonderful to meet you - albeit so briefly! Next time we must chat more. X

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  3. ChristySeptember 7, 2013 at 11:43 PM

    You look lovely and the dress is amazing. Great work!

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  4. The Long & Winding BobbinSeptember 8, 2013 at 12:13 AM

    First dates are always awkward so thankfully you were lovely and chatty, just like we had met before!
    Love the belladone, 'twas boodifool :-)
    I see some fabric exchanges in our future...

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  5. UnknownSeptember 8, 2013 at 1:05 AM

    It seems a shame that you've gone to all this trouble with the pattern for it to be a one off! I hope you'll make more because it really is cute and fits beautifully.

    I missed talking to you AGAIN... sorry! I'm pretty hopeless at just walking up to people and introducing myself but will try harder next time :)

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  6. LisaSeptember 8, 2013 at 4:16 AM

    You nailed the fit! Looks gorgeous.

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  7. liza janeSeptember 8, 2013 at 6:39 AM

    The work was worth it because the fit looks spot on. I love the fabric. I'm not big on florals but this one is fab. And those shoes! Perfect.

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  8. MaciNicSeptember 8, 2013 at 6:40 AM

    It's such a beautiful dress and you looked lovely ;) It was wonderful to meet you last night - such a fun evening ;)

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  9. MarieSeptember 8, 2013 at 3:38 PM

    Gosh, this is so lovely! You have managed to achieve a pretty spectacular fit, so all those alterations were definitely worth it in the end!

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  10. sarahpSeptember 8, 2013 at 3:47 PM

    Wow! You weren't joking about those back modifications! Worth it though, the fit was amazing. One day I'd love to catch up again, perhaps in the earlier hours when I'm more awake! The length was perfect too.

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  11. MareeSeptember 8, 2013 at 7:14 PM

    Hello Rachel. This is beautiful and clever sewing as you have a lovely dress that fits so well. xx

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  12. poppykettleSeptember 9, 2013 at 2:09 AM

    Such a stunning Belladone! And I haven't been able to get your fabric out of my head since seeing it on Saturday night... it's so dreamy!! The tessuti ladies did you right by picking the turquoise/cyan coloured binding, it plays off the print so beautifully and really suits your skin tone too. Glad to know I wasn't the only one having massive fit issues with this puppy - the toile-ing certainly paid off though - I'm pretty sure you've got the best fitting Belladone out there. Love it!

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    1. poppykettleSeptember 9, 2013 at 2:11 AM

      ps - I've uploaded all my camera photos from saturday night to my flickr stream - you're welcome to pilfer from it :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/poppykettle/

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  13. GabrielleSeptember 10, 2013 at 4:49 PM

    Love your dress! Looks fabulous, and all those adjustments were definitely worth it. Funny about the back gaping - that does seem to be an issue that's copping up with many of the Belladones.

    Hey, guess what - I bought this fabric about 2 months ago too, with a different summer dress in mind thank goodness :) but still pretty funny. I suspect the fabric may have sold out because it definitely was online back then - I saw it online and then hightailed it to the shop to buy it! We def seem to like the same prints!

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  14. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2013 at 5:07 AM

    Lovely to meet you on Saturday - I think I saw something very similar in Cleggs on Monday morning... mind you I was ridiculously tired!

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  15. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2013 at 2:01 PM

    Wonderful dress in a pretty floral. I like the contrast binding.

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