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Friday, August 28, 2015

Summertime Cotton


This summer I have rediscovered my love of cotton (I am beginning to feel like one of those silly "fabric of our lives" commercials).  


Sure, I have been wearing some of my rayon dresses, but most days I am drawn to the cotton clothing in my closet.


It probably has a lot to do with all of the hot weather, but I have also remembered how fabulous it is to sew with this fiber! 


Sometimes the original pattern design is not very practical, but I could not resist this pattern.  So I made myself a day dress instead of a gown.  It also saves a lot of fabric!


And I love the knee-length skirt!  In the lightweight fabric it has a wonderful floaty feeling, but because the seam starts at the hip, it does not feel like it is going to end up blowing up over my head.


Skirts with a yoked waistband are not my favorite, but I think I am going to try to figure out another way to use this pattern to make myself a skirt . . . or maybe I just need another dress!


I should probably start thinking about Fall sewing, but I am having so much fun working with these lightweight cottons!



Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 6022
Shoes:  Banana Republic

[The fabric for this dress was received in exchange for my contributions as a Britex Guest Blogger.]


16 comments:

  1. I love that the collar is open at center back! It looks so pretty with it opening, like butterfly wings! All in all a wonderful, pretty and summery dress!

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  2. Lovely dress, but that's a given. How long does it you complete a dress?

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    1. Thanks, Zynthia! Time to complete a project really varies. I think I am fairly quick, but I usually choose very involved garments and I am obsessed with finishing edges and making the insides look as pretty as the outside, so that adds quite a bit of time. Some less complicated items take a few days, and some gowns I spent months on . . .

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  3. It is beautiful! That minty green is one of my favorite colors.

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  4. What a lovely dress! And the color is perfect on you.

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  5. Overheard snippet #1:

    "Do ya see this for what it is?"

    "Mmm hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

    "Icey aqua, Italian batiste, and just enough leg."

    "Perfect for driving her Austin-Healy to Stinson Beach for some ankle-deep-in-the-ocean reflecting."

    "Terrorizing tourists in town."

    "Walking her dog through that neighborhood with a decidedly high concentration of well-to-do bachelors."

    "Doubtful she'll ever change."

    "She consistently makes great dresses, and this one is quintessential, 'Laura Mae in the summertime'."

    "They're featuring her over at Britex, AGAIN! And cotton is on (pause), SALE!"

    "Could she be manipulatively sewing so we burn through our piles of loot?"

    [surprised audible inhale] "More fabric in our stashes, as our wallets fill with ashes."

    "Our road to ruin, is guest blogger strewn."

    "THAT Laura Mae!"

    "Mmm hmm, THAT one."

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  6. That dress on you is simply divine. Divine. The color, the drape, the shape. You definitely need more.

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  7. Lovely dress! That color is very summery!

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  8. Such a great dress. The collar is amazing - and the colour, and the fit, and the...

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  9. Such a sweet and lovely dress. You look beautiful.

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  10. Gorgeous dress which features all of your best assets, and there are plenty!

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  11. That is one of my favourite ever of your dresses and that is stiff competition. If I saw you in the street in it I wouldn't be able to stop staring, so it's a good job I live in the Uk, or would you realise it's another sewer! Beautiful job!

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    1. Thanks, Mags! I like the way this one came out, too!

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  12. You look beautiful in every outfit you make. As well as you sew and know how to combine, change and fit patterns you should never buy anything ready made. You knit beautifully too and that adds more to your custom look.
    . It usually takes me 3 tries to get something to look as perfect as I like so I don't finish a garment as quickly as you do.

    I hope you don't mind if I share my sewing heritage with readers.
    My grandfather was an English tailor who unfortunately passed away before I was born. My father said he was so fast you could see the muscles in his forearm ripple when he was hand sewing. I wish he could have lived longer so I could have been an apprentice at his shop. He was also the fastest wallpaper hanger and painter to be found. I suspect he died of lead poisoning from the paint that was used during the depression era. He never drank or smoked and was a kind and gentle man.

    Edgar Bowman was his name but I do not know if he was born in England or how he learned the trade but he worked in the Dallas and East Texas (Carthage) area. Texas is known for gas and oil and cotton farming, etc. so he had plenty of work. He earned about 100K to 150K a year or more by current wages which demonstrates how hard he had to work.

    However, during the depression he continued to make suits although his clients did not have the money to pay him. He knew they would pay when they were able. A man's word was his reputation in those days. One of the best things about people who sew and knit is that they still abide by those values even if when others don't.

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    1. Pamela, thank you for sharing your story! True artistry and craftsmanship is a beautiful thing . . . I am fascinated by tailoring and wish I knew more about it (just one more thing to add to the list of things I want to study, and that list is getting really, really long at this point!).

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  13. ...swoon...!!! So absolutely LOVELY!!! Thanks for sharing!

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