Wednesday 5 June 2013

Blue rose shirt dress

My big news for today is that my blue rose shirt dress is finished. Hoorah! A few stumbling blocks were flung across my path during the making of it, including half term holidays and a serious buttonhole foot malfunction. But now it's finally completed, I'm glad I made it at my own pace and didn't try to rush the making of this lovely dress.



This is the second time I've used McCall's 4769 (the first being my Jubilee dress), so I knew I didn't need to make any further adjustments to the pattern. In fact I didn't have to make any the first time round, just shortening the skirt using the petite lines on the pattern. 

For fabric I used my all time favourite Liberty print - Carline - which is a fab blue rose print on a cream background. It was a tight squeeze cutting out all the pattern pieces as I only had two metres, but omitting the pockets and sleeve bands seemed to just about swing it. It's fully underlined with silk cotton (apart from the sleeves), which makes a massive difference both in opacity and feel. The blue of the roses really pops with the white underlining and the dress now has a luxurious weightiness to it that I love.

Inside...

..and outside

My first version of this dress only has six buttons and buttonholes, and with hindsight, I think a couple of extra ones wouldn't have gone amiss. So this time round I made eight buttonholes, which gives the dress that extra bit of security! 


And finally, I managed to use the last scraps of my Watch this Lace trimming on the hem. It's a perfect colour match too - don't you just love it when that happens?!


For those of you who were interested in a tutorial on attaching the collar and facings, I think I have enough photos and will put something together over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here I am prancing around in my new dress...

I love how it looks with a waspie belt

Can my cheeks possibly look any more hamster like?

Yes, they can!

I just love shirt dresses - they're so easy to wear and manage to effortlessly travel that difficult path between casual and dressed up. I know I'm going to love wearing this dress over the summer. x

76 comments:

  1. Beautiful dres.. It's sure was worth the extra effort and waiting.

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  2. Wow! The inside looks nearly as beautiful as the outside!

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  3. One of my favourite fabrics too! It is a beautiful dress and the lace trim is perfect.

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  4. I really love your everbuying.com blue lace dresses especially the pop of color you gave it with the underlining.

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  5. This is a gorgeous dress. Fabulous style and fabric.

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  6. It's fabulous Jane! It's so pretty and it suits you very well too:) ... and I'll definitely appreciate the tutorial once you get a moment to put it up ;-)

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  7. What a lovely dress!!! I would love to see a tutorial on collars and facings, looking forward to it :)
    Freya May
    thedressmakingdiaries.blogspot.com

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  8. Wow, lovely and the inside finish is fab! Love the pattern- might just be what I am looking for!

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  9. Oh my goodness, this is so beautiful and perfectly made. I'm glad you took the time to go at your own speed too :) It looks stunning on you!

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  10. Absolutely beautiful and inspiring, Jane. I can't wait to see this in person!

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  11. This is SO pretty! Beautiful job there, Jane!

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  12. Oh look at that - lovely! You look "very trim", as my mother would say! ;)

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    1. 'Trim'!! What a lovely way to be described, thanks! x

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  13. gorgeous! love that print and the fit is amazing!

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  14. Ah Jane, it's gorgeous! Can't beat the shirtdress for a classic style and the fabric is beautiful. Looks like a delight to wear and you look fab.

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  15. So beautiful! You really did an amazing job on this - such a clean finish inside! I can see why this fabric is your favorite. It's so classic, and perfectly you!

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  16. Wow, stunning, amazing job!

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  17. Wow, that so pretty! I love your fabric choice.

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  18. The dress is put together so well. The inside looks just as lovely as the outside. I am in love with the fabric on you! The bright blue flowers really do pop with the white underlining, and they make your features pop too :)

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  19. Inspired by your blue roses and Gertie's red Carline shirt dress, I bought 3 meters of red Carline from a UK seller -- I've never made a shirt dress but I think the fabric looks great. Fingers crossed that I can do one successfully!

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    1. Oh that's great to hear. Good luck making it, I think it's the perfect fabric for a shirt dress (but I'm biased!) x

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  20. Just adding my voice to the many above of oh my! what a beautiful dress! My me made summer wardrobe is sadly lacking and this beautiful fabric has made me want to put that right, immediately! :-)

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  21. It looks fantastic! The fabric is perfect for it. I'm green with envy. :)

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  22. This is so CUTE! It's great when a dress is beautiful inside and out. I love that shade of blue. It looks perfect on you. I always end up adding extra buttons to shirts and shirt dresses. I've found that even if the fit is great, there may still be gaping between buttons. Extra security is always good. :)

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    1. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise I can add extra buttons to a garment instead of faithfully following the pattern instructions! Like you, I'll be doing it all the time now! x

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  23. Great dress on the outside and the inside!!

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  24. Beautiful! As much as I love the way you look in red, blue is a pretty perfect color for you too :) And blue roses?! - swoon!

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    1. Blue roses totally make me swoon too! x

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  25. Loving that dress Jane. I love blue roses. Just out of interest, where do you get your cotton silk lining fabric from? And, do you use an overlocker for your raw edges or is that a stitch on your sewing machine?

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    1. Yes, I do use an overlocker to finish my seam edges. The silk cotton is from the Goldhawk Road. It would be good to find an online supplier as I've had lots of queries about it. Will let you know if I have any success. x

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  26. Oh, Jane! What a beautiful dress! I have eagerly been awaiting the unveiling and it definitely does not disappoint!! What a marvellous job!

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  27. I adore it! It's a beautiful print and really shines in that dress!

    Sorry again that we missed each other in London! xo

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    1. Aw me too Tasha! Next time, definitely! x

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  28. I'm in love with this Jane...that print is to die for! And I'm so glad you've found a go-to style and pattern that you can whip up without any major issues, how ruddy cool! Although, I must admit that whilst speed reading this at work, I initially thought you'd encountered 'butthole foot malfunction'...erm, weird!!!

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    1. 'Butthole foot??!!' God that REALLY made me laugh Marie, in fact every time I think of it I laugh! x

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    2. Tell me about it, I'm still giggling about it now! In my silly state of mind, I forgot to say how chuffed I was that you used the remainder of your lace too...I'm very touched!xx

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  29. This is gorgeous on you! What a perfect dress.

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  30. This dress is really beautiful. You look fabulous in it. It fits you ever so perfectly. Would love to see more about details - what you underlined it in. Congratulations and enjoy wearing it this summer.

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    1. There's more info about the underlining in this post: http://handmadejane.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/kicking-off-summer-with-blue-roses.html
      And thank you! x

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  31. Wow, oh, wow!! I LOVE this dress, and it looks fab on you! This will be added to my Pinterest shirtdress board right now. The fabric is gorgeous, and it's interesting to read your comments on underlining (and to see a photo of the inside). I say that because I would love to make a shirtdress, but I know I'd have to alter the back neck, and that would mess up the collar. Oh, and you deserve bonus sewing points for cutting it out of 2 metres! What happened with the buttonholes? Did your machine do that thing were it knows it's a real live garment, and not a test fabric scrap, and then decides to muck up the buttonholes? I hate that!

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    1. Yes, something like that, but thankfully not on this dress! A bit broke off my buttonhole foot a while ago but it still seemed to make buttonholes OK. It finally stopped working when I was putting buttonholes in my last sleeveless top - I had to finish some of them by hand, Grrr! Then Janome kept repeatedly sending me the wrong foot! Got there in the end though! x

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  32. Hey Jane - what a stunning dress! Because I love your blog I have nominated you for a Liebster Award - go to my blog to find out what it is -http://rockabillystitch.blogspot.co.uk/ xx

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  33. Gorgeous dress! You did a wonderful job on it. The fabric and pattern are a perfect match fir your style.

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  34. Wow Jane - this is truly lovely!

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  35. suits you perfectly, fits you perfectly perfect dress really

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  36. It's beautiful!! Looks gorgeous on you

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  37. I know it's been said already, but the blue roses print AND a shirt dress is a lovely combination. I hadn't heard of silk cotton before - but it seems perfect for a summer dress lining.

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  38. Wow - this is lovely! You're stunning in those blue roses!

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  39. I've always loved this Liberty print as well - and what a fabulous creation! Great job on the dress!

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  40. Congratulations! This dress is really beautiful on you.

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  41. Jane, this is absolutely stunning! A truly lovely fit and finish :D

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  42. Oh Jane, it's beauuuuuutiful! It suits you perfectly xx

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  43. Beautiful dress, Jane, and it really suits you!

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  44. You look fabulous! What an amazing dress! So beautiful. Have fun wearing it!

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  45. I love this silhouette on you. And the fabric is gorgeous, roses for an English Rose.

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  46. The blue really suits you Jane, it reminded me of a circular skirt with big blue roses I made back in my art college days (many years ago!) I am interested what you mean by silk cotton. Is it a silk cotton mix or is it a silk in a cotton weight or what? If it is silk don't you worry that it might shrink when you wash it and make the top fabric bunch up? It certainly helps to make the print lovely and vibrant!

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    1. I think it's a cotton with a percentage of silk, but I'm not sure what percentage. It certainly acts more like cotton than silk, it's really well behaved! x

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  47. That is such a pretty dress, and fits you so perfectly.

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  48. Such a lovely dress, and the fit is perfect! Will have to get the address of where on the Goldhawk Rd you find your cotton silk lining. I use very thin cotton, but this looks much nicer (and is no doubt more durable because of the silk). It gives the lawn the body it needs on a dress like this. Gorgeous!

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  49. Jane I'm sorry to be late returning to comment having eaten this up at breakfast on Thursday but being in too much of a rush to do more than swoon, sigh, and generally get the vapours....this is gorgeous and feels like a missing piece in my wardrobe: a liberty shirt dress....enjoy wearing it lots Xx

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  50. Swoon. I love Carline. Anything Carline! And this shirt dress is perfect. I'm tempted into buying my own copy of that pattern so I can make it up!

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  51. Ah JANE! This is genuinely perfect.

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  52. Jane, this is beautiful inside and out (just like you) x

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  53. It looks beautiful, and I love the inside shot and the lace used on the hem, all very inspiring! I'd be very interested to see a tutorial on attaching the collar and facings. Beth/thelinencat xx

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  54. Just so beautiful. I love the dress and the fabric is perfection. Gorgeous.

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  55. Stunning dress! I am also dying to know where you got the belt from, if you don't mind sharing…

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    1. Thank you! the belt's from Vivien of Holloway and it's a 2 inch
      http://www.vivienofholloway.com/en/category/2in-belts/2in-belts/349/
      I'm also wearing a 3 inch belt with my Jubilee dress if you want the see a comparison. They're great, highly recommend them. X

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  56. It's a beautiful dress, and such a flattering shape. I'm usually wary of prints (in case they swamp me) but this one looks so elegant–love it!

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  57. Wow, this dress is amazing! I haven't been sewing for very long but I'm desperate to make one of these. Maybe I'll take the plunge soon!!

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