Finished - A Liberty shift, and a dipping of toes into a new world...

A little while ago Helene at Stitch 56 had some exciting news - she was going to be stocking Liberty fabric! And she was opening up a bricks and mortar outlet for all her amazing goodies. Clearly a party was required, and thus party dresses. After being able to choose our favourite fabrics from the new seasons prints Helene gave us free reign to make a frock for the launch of the Stockroom. Check out my post and Helene's lovely selection of Liberty lawn here.



Obviously it was amazing to be able to pick a brand spanking new piece of Liberty lawn. I chose Nikita C, a beautiful floral and berry print that made me dream of a little long-sleeved 60's inspired shift dress. I've always loved the styling of the floral versions of the Laurel on the Colette website, and soon had myself a lovely little collection of modern and vintage floral shifts on Pinterest. My favourites:



A simple design would show off the beautiful fabric so I went with my good old New Look 6808-Colette-Laurel dress combo. I wanted something I could wear throughout the year, so instead of lining it I made a separate silk slip (I figured I'd wear it with my other version too - win!). 



Anyway it was a marvellously uneventful make - reliable pattern, beautiful well behaved fabric. I'm delighted with the outcome. 



It's a frock that will always be so special to me because I made it to wear it to meet Helene, Jo, Meredith and some lovely Melbourne based sewing ladies for the first time. The Stockroom party was my first ever social sewing outing and I can't tell you what a wonderful afternoon it was. It was so much fun to chat to Jo and Meredith, then to Helene's guests. It's just the best thing to be able to talk endlessly about your passion with likeminded people - I don't know if it's just me but it can be hard to make new friends once you start getting older.  And after chatting to the delightful Lara and Anna I finally pulled my finger out and hopped on Instagram properly (I'm here, and am slowly tracking down all my favourite sewists so do let me know your profile in the comments). And what's even more exciting is the lovely Kat, Frocktail organiser extraordinare, has hopefully sorted me a ticket to the Melbourne shindig so I'll get to meet even more lovely makers. Can't wait! 





Comments

  1. What a great little shift dress! I love the floral that you chose - great colours! I also think that the slip is an ingenious idea. So happy you are getting to meet some like-minded people and I agree, it's tough to make friends as you get older.

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  2. pretty and cute shift, great inspiration pics too. hee hee, welcome to IG ;o)

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  3. You look lovely! Those colours are perfect on you. Is Liberty fabric as amazing as everyone says? I'd love to make a shift dress, I think I'll need to start tinkering with patterns when it starts to warm up a bit...
    (And yay Instagram!!)

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    1. Hi Kirsten, it really is a beautiful quality type of cotton, and the ink quality and printing is amazing too. You could almost get away with the wrong side! So it's not easy to find in NZ?

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  4. So lovely! TNT patterns are the best aren't they? I've never seen a Liberty fabric in the flesh but have always admired them on blogs. I haven't researched but I'm not sure you can get them here which might be a good thing for my wallet! It's so great that you're meeting up with other sewists. It's definitely harder to make friends as you get older. I moved to Auckland not long ago and have struggled even though I had a baby which people say is the best way to meet people. I'm going to my first social sewing event in a few weeks and am really looking forward to it. Hope you have fun at Frocktails :)

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    1. Thanks Kate! Oh I hope you have a super time at your meet up! The assumption you're always going to get along with people just because they've got babies too is a bit unrealistic isn't it? Having more in common is a much better grounds for friendship!

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  6. Lovely! I am developing a very pricey Liberty habit, so lucky to get some for promotion. This print is perfect for the simple cut of the dress. Now to go look you up on instagram!

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    1. Thanks KRist! I am so lucky, Helene was so generous!

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  7. Gorgeous dress! It can be so daunting going to a social sewing event for the first time. But I'm so glad I dipped that toe a while ago as I feel I have established myself in this amazingly wonderful community of like-minds. I wasn't convinced that the relationships forged on social media would feel as comfortable in real life, but what do you know? It was like picking up a conversation mid stream and carrying merrily along. So glad you're on Instagram. It keeps us in touch between blog posts. It's where all my fun works in progress or interesting finds are. I only use my blog for finished makes now. Enjoy that gorgeous Liberty, it looks lovely on you.

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  8. I think you were very prudent to make it in a tested pattern - probably reduces the chance of spontaneous nervous shakes when one cuts into precious fabric! And the outcome is so very stylish. Glad you're out there sewcializing and gramming it up!

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  9. Absolutely beautiful! Perfect marriage of fabric and style. Oh, you'll be wearing that for years to come :) So glad you enjoyed the launch party. (I love the idea of sewing-meet-up-style events, but am really daunted by the thought of them too...Stupid shyness!)

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    1. Thanks lovely! And I know what you mean about it being daunting but honestly, as Jillian says above, it's like you just continue conversations you started online! You must let me know when you're in town shopping again and we can enable each other!

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  10. Oh, that's so cute, what a gorgeous print! Glad you're enjoying the 'gram; I love it too, not always for the sewing stuff but for all the pretty pictuuuures!!!!! :)

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    1. Thanks Carolyn! I love snooping at everyone's WIP's and lovely nature pics!

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