Sunday, August 12, 2012

Liberty Sorbetto dress.

This dress is the result of cross-inspiration. 
A Liberty fabric dress.
And Alys Fowler.



Two years ago I came across an Ilana Kohn dress made from Liberty fabric, and knew one day I would try and make one for myself. Once I set up my Pintrest account I saved the dress there too just so I wouldn't forget about it. I loved the simplicity of the dress, the bias binding and the curved hemline. I imagined it would be so perfectly comfortable to wear during our hot summer months.

This year I was also inspired by the dresses Alys Fowler wears in her BBC series The Edible Garden. Her knowledge of permaculture and indubitable love for her garden inspired me on my gardening endeavours, while her offbeat gardening attire inspired my seamstress within.

I drafted the perfect gardening dress today using Colette Pattern's Sorbetto as my starting block. I deleted the centre front pleat and lengthened the top by about 14 inches, taking into account my hip measurements and adding width to the pattern accordingly. I also lowered the front neckline about an inch. I made a wearable muslin first using the brightly coloured floral fabric I blogged about yesterday. I discovered the wearable muslin had a few mistakes. I had not removed enough of the pleat section so my darts did not reach the right position on my bust. Also, I added three pin tucks to the centre front neck line which did not look that great. The first dress will be kept for sleepwear in the summer months, because it is cute, but a little shabby and not something I would be confident to wear out in public.

For the second pattern draft I removed more from the front pleat, added half an inch to either side hips, shortened the length to sit above my knees and decided not sew the pin tucks. I sewed this draft up in the blue mock Liberty and it turned out so much nicer!


~ It was 14oC and raining for these photos - so so cold! ~

I drafted the hem line slightly curved, which I think is a nice touch. The bias binding works well with Lawn fabrics because it gives the soft fabric some structure and shape. This dress took be no more than one hour to make!







This dress is going to look so cute in a Liberty Tana Lawn! The only trouble will be deciding what fabric to sew it up in.

Any suggestions Liberty fans???

Sam xox
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 8:30 PM

    OOOHHH Sam I love it! You look so Alys Fowler that the plants are just bound to be thriving. I think with the fabrics you could take it either way, a small scale print like an Eloise or a Phoebe, or you could do something large scale like Lord Paisley or Lanthe. I think my ultimate pick would be Claire-Aude (of course). Just a questions, how much ease did you add to your hip measurement? Also, do you think this would work with a button placket down the middle, like a shirt dress? I'm just wondering how it could possibly be adjusted to accommodate breastfeeding!?

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    1. SamSeptember 19, 2012 at 7:34 PM

      Thanks Ally! I don't know how you could adjust the pattern to accommodate feeding - maybe sew it up in a cheap cotton and have a play around? I added about 2" to my hip measurement.

      Delete
  2. LaneAugust 15, 2012 at 5:41 AM

    How cute. And, just an hour. I'm reading your adventures with great interest as I learn more and more about making garments. Without much sewing time, it's taken me a week to get a shirt muslin to fit just right and I still need to spend some time getting the front shoulder right. But, the more I do, the better I'll get. And, soon, I'll be brave enough to try to fit a pattern to someone else's body...which has to be easier than fitting to my own. Lane

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  3. AnonymousAugust 21, 2012 at 8:09 AM

    Such a pretty dress! I'm sure you are looking forward to summer so that you can wear it. Love it with your cerise gardening boots. I think you may be setting a new trend.....

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    Replies
    1. SamSeptember 19, 2012 at 7:35 PM

      Thanks heaps, yes I have been wearing these boots even to work!

      Delete
  4. annabelvitaSeptember 19, 2012 at 7:25 PM

    This is adorable! I made a sorbetto dress (http://annabelvita.com/2012/08/08/sorbetto-sundae-simple-summer-dress/) but just did a normal hem (and hidden bias facings) - I love the contrast trim all around this (and the curved hem). I've definitely got to make another one more like this! I wonder if it would work in a more winter appropriate fabric?
    Thanks for the inspiration!

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    Replies
    1. SamSeptember 19, 2012 at 7:33 PM

      Hi, thanks for the comment! I would think it would work beautifully in a winter fabric. I made this dress during the cooler months and I wore it to work with a long sleeve top and tights underneath. I just had a look at yours and it is great! Yes I did like the curved hem, I think it softens the hem line a little. Sam xox

      Delete
  5. UnknownApril 25, 2018 at 12:40 AM

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    ReplyDelete

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