Floral Fabric Designs for Dresses

Do you plan your fashion sewing projects season by season?

My floral fabric stash

As you know I love taking inspiration from the catwalk shows and designer’s latest looks. One of the key influences that I have noticed for this spring is definitely florals. Big bold prints along side tiny, fussy small ones. Both light on dark and pale on light backgrounds.

I am excited about using all of the different styles in various sewing  projects.

I’ve pinned some of my favourite floral inspiration pictures to share with you. They include designs by Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera.

Sewing AvenueFloral Designs, Fabrics and DressesSee On

I have a confession to make though because I have been collecting floral print fabrics throughout the winter months eagerly squirrelling it all away in anticipation of using them in the springtime. I feel that it is time for me to move on from the dark winter colours to lighter, brighter shades.

There are some pieces of clothing that  I definitely need to include in the floral makes. They include a new over sized shirt or two, an easy fitting dress and a jersey T-shirt top.

Lillia shirt flat line pattern

Sheer fabric, floral

Oversized shirts seem to be everywhere in the shops right now. I will use the basic pattern and maybe add a bit more fullness across the lower edge of the yoke on the back and fronts.

Dallia Dress Pattern – Fashion Flat

Floral on a black background

I’m not one hundred percent convinced that I like the florals on a dark background trend, however I am going to give it a try  with the black cotton and make a short sleeve,  easy fitting Dallia dress with added inseam pockets, for a casual everyday style.

Dallia Dress Pattern – Fashion Flat

Floral design on dark background

This purple, viscous, floral fabric  moves beautifully so I’m thinking about using it either to make a second comfort fit shirt or seeing how it would work in a more fitted dress style. Maybe with a bold pink accent colour piping at the neckline and on the sleeves. Sometimes I think that floral prints can look a bit old fashioned and dated so I will be mindful of creating the look I want with the correct type of fabric qualities.

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Happy Sewing

Floral Fabric Designs

SLEEVELESS SHIFT DRESS – END OF THE WINTER SEWING

Sometimes the simplest garments are the ones which you reach for time and again.

Dallia Shift Dress

This navy blue sleeveless shift dress is from my Dallia Shift Dress pattern. I just know I will wear it over and over. I have modified it a bit by getting rid of the back centre seam in this version. If the dress had sleeves I think that it would need a back opening, either a button and loop fastening as in the black and white patterned version, or a zip. The addition of sleeves to a bodice means that a bit more room is needed to get the dress over the shoulders. This sleeveless dress however meant that I could get away with simply pulling it on over the head. So quick to get ready in the mornings. I have used a woven fabric but there is no reason why it couldn’t be a knit. A scuba or Ponti Roma would work well.

The construction of this dress is very simple, just two bust darts, side and shoulder seams.

This is an unlined dress and the edges are bound with bias binding. The bias binding can be a bit of a fiddle but its well worth practicing the technique. It is a nice edging finish as it not only encases all of the raw edges but it can be used decoratively as well, contrasting with or blending with the garment fabric.

This is the last of my winter makes as next week it will be march and time for looking ahead and planning out the spring wardrobe and what to make for lighter, brighter days ahead.

I’m thinking about floral fabric inspiration as there were so many florals on the RTW spring/summer catwalk collections. Also there was a real prominence of gingham, so I’ll definitely be using lots of that in both a small and large check version. With the florals I’m not sure about the dark floral trend however I am going to give it a go, make a dress, maybe a shirt. Sometimes prints can surprise me and I find that they are really useful wardrobe items after all.
What inspires you to start a new sewing project? is it necessity, needing a particular piece of clothing for an event or occasion? Is it a pattern you have discovered and want to try out to learn new skills, or is it finding an amazing fabric you just have to have?

Introducing my floral fabric collection for my spring fashion makes. It includes a crisp cotton, a sheer, a viscose mix and a poly cotton. You will see more of these very soon!

Floral Fabric Collection

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Sleeveless Shift Dress – End of the winter sewing

Dallia Shift Dress

So iconic and every woman’s best friend but how did it all start, how did it come about?

A quick google search for the shift dress will bring up so many choice options. You can have them with long, short or no sleeves, collars or no collars, round, ‘V’ or square neckline and in virtually any length and colour you choose.

This is a classic and timeless dress shape which is incredibly easy for any woman of any size, shape or age to wear. It is a fabulously simple design which hangs comfortably from the shoulders and is roomy enough to “shift” about over the body rather than cling to it’s curves. Making it the perfect dress for those days when you want something a bit less clingy!

Who conceived the shift dress?

Well there are three contenders who claim that they were the designer of the first shift dress and all have a valid claim in their own way.

Firstly there is Lilly Pulitzer. She was an American socialite who lived in Palm Beach Florida. She had asked her dressmaker to design and make simple dresses for her to wear while she helped out on her fruit farm. The dresses had just two basic bust darts and were made in bright, summery, cotton colours. When her friend Jacqueline Kennedy was photographed wearing one of the dresses on vacation and the picture appeared in Life Magazine, the world started to want them. Lily began selling more dresses than fruit and in 1959 the Lilly Pulitzer clothing label was born.

Secondly is Hubert de Givenchy who designed the famous black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961. It was a simple black Knee length shift dress. He also made very similar dresses for many of his clients, including Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco.

Thirdly is the designer Mary Quant. Famous for creating the mini skirt in 1966, she gave the shift dress a new twist by making it much shorter and bringing the style to a whole new audience.

So why after fifty years is this enduring style still with us?  What is it’s appeal?

Just  last week at the Mercedes Benz New York fashion week, there were designers sending their shift dresses down the runway. Henry Holland had bold floral designs, Desigual used bright colours as did Vivian Tam and Hanae Mori to name just a few. Even current celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Kate Middleton have been photographed recently in versions of the dress.

For the sewist, the style endures because the simplicity of the shift dress means that it is the ideal first dress project to make for yourself as the pattern alterations and fitting are so minimal. For the more advanced dressmaker though, the shift dress lends itself to adaptation and design experimentation. The lucidity of the basic pattern means that it can be easily manipulated to take advantage of changing fashion trends such as a more generous or a slimmer fit. Gathers or pleating can be added, it can be a shorter or longer length, with sleeves or no sleeves and embellishments such as collar, button down front and colour blocking.

http://www.sewingavenue.com/dallia-shift-dress/

Hello,

This week I have been working with a wonderful IT team to create a pattern of my own to use here on Sewing Avenue. The process has been a lot more technical than I imagined it would be so I am extremely grateful to the guys for all that they have done so far. I love the end result, it is a very useful pattern which I can use and manipulate in many ways to create an infinite amount of designs and very wearable tops. So far I have had time to made the Camellia Top in three different fabrics for three different looks. I’ve made it in a bright pink with a black trim, a floral cotton with a white bias binding and a silver satin. I have big plans for this little top and I am going to be making it again in future blogs to create different looks for many occasions.

  Camellia Top in Pink
Camellia Top in Floral

Camellia Top in Silver

The Camellia Top is a fantastic item to add to any woman’s wardrobe. This top is very easy to make and comes as just two simple pattern pieces, a back and a front. There are two bust darts in the front piece to create a bit of shape and it is edged with bias binding which can be either the same fabric or a contrasting colour. It is a top which will never go out of style and can be updated for any season in a wide range of fabrics. I have decided to share the fun with you so therefore I am making this pattern available for everyone to download completely free. It will be available from Sunday 8th February 2015. If you want to send me your Email before that date I will still be able to ensure that you get the link on Sunday 8th.


Camellia Top Pattern

Simply fill in your Email address above on the “Email Newsletter” and I’ll send you a link to download your very own copy of the Camellia Top. I promise that your Email details will be held in confidence and never shared with anyone. This pdf pattern covers sizes US 4/UK 8, US 6/UK 10, US 8/UK 12. It prints out in both A4 and Letter and uses 9 pieces of paper. It also comes with a construction diagram for assembling the pattern pieces and instructions for making up the garment.

Camellia Top Pattern

 I intend to get the pattern made in more sizes before the end of February, up to and including sizes US 20/UK 24, so if you don’t see the size you need here please be patient and I’ll have it ready as soon as possible and post a blog about it when it is done. Then you too can enjoy making many Camellia tops for yourself and your friends and family. I’d love to hear from you to find out how you have made your Camellia Top. Let me know which fabrics you like and maybe how you have restyled it to suit yourself. Have you added extra length or maybe put buttons down the front? Have you made it a different colour on the back to the front or even with a “v” neck instead of rounded? There are so many possibilities. Please leave a comment below.

 Happy sewing

Take a look at my other blogs at www.sewingavenue.com

Burgundy Cocktail Dress

Burgundy Cocktail Dress - How to dress for less

Hi and welcome to this week’s blog. Do you ever find yourself drooling over the glamorous clothes you see in the pages of your favourite glossy magazines? Do you ever worry about how you can afford the latest fashion looks or a new dress for that important family occasion or the smart presentation you have to do for work? Well I have the answer Sew your own clothes. Yes, it can be far more cost effective to sew your own fashion than to buy ready made off the rail clothes. Especially those items like a good quality shirt or an elegant dress. When you make your own garments you can make sure that they fit you perfectly so you will look better and feel prouder too. Sewing and dressmaking is a very satisfying pastime, you will be  learning a new skill and forever improving upon it. Go on grab a pattern and some fabric and have a go. I have been looking at a few of the fashion designer’s collections for fall/winter 2014/15 and I noticed that one of the prominent colours which really stood out was burgundy. Its surprising. When I started looking I realised the colour is everywhere, in a variety of shades. So I took the colour as my inspiration this week. Follow Sewing Avenue's board Burgundy Dress on Pinterest. I’ve drawn a couple of sketches of a dress I saw recently with a cowl neck line. I like this style as it is soft and flattering without being revealing.

 

 The fabric I am using is a crepe fabric with no stretch to it so this style would be suited to any medium weight woven fabric.

How I pieced the bodice together…

The cowl neckline is the main feature of the look of this cocktail dress. It is cut as one piece of fabric which consists of both the front bodice and it’s lining. It's cut out on the bias of the fabric, this will give it the lovely drape effect I desire.


Burgundy Dress Construction

 The front is attached to the bodice back at the shoulders and armhole edges then turned out, as you would when constructing any regular bodice with this method.  

Burgundy Dress Construction


Burgundy Dress Construction

 The lining on the back neck and the armhole edges is under stitched to stop it rolling out.  
Burgundy Dress Construction

 Don’t press the edge of the cowl neckline to a crisp edge though, the intention is to keep a soft edge look here. Then I stitched the side seams together and checked the fit. The fit can be altered at this stage by using the seam allowance to let out or take in fabric to get the desired look. I always try to use a seam allowance of ⅝ inch/15mm. If you are dressmaking for someone else you can allow as much seam allowance as you think may be needed to achieve the fit, it can always be trimmed back later, when you are happy with the finished fit. I have used a concealed zipper in the back seam. Which type of zippers do you like to use in your dressmaking. Lapped can look nice but I don’t usually put in an exposed zipper on a smart dress, I would keep this style for a more casual or sporty outfit.

  

Burgundy Dress
 I am so excited about this dress. It fits well and definitely looks dressed up enough to wear out to dinner and drink those cocktails in! I want to make it again now in another colour. Don’t be surprised if it appears again in another blog! What's on your sewing table at the moment? Happy sewing