Spring Florals

For many, the Melbourne Cup is a day to dress up in your finest frock and sip champagne whilst watching a televised horse race.  I had no plans for the Melbourne Cup this year, but it was my first "free" day in a while, so I thought I would spend it making a frock whilst everyone else wore theirs.  Then yesterday, I got a last minute invite to lunch.  I was kinda attached to the idea of sewing this dress, so I started it last night and finished it this morning (well, almost, the facings still need to be stitched down), and was only 20 minutes late for lunch.

The fabric:  A very fine, floaty cotton from Gardams, in Brisbane.

The pattern:  Originally I had planned to make this fabric into a tunic-style dress with long sleeves, but I decided that the print was a bit too bold for that much coverage.  Prints are always a bit tricky, so I flicked through some old Vogue magazines for inspiration and found a simple style by Dries Van Noten, in his SS2007 collection.  He uses the most gorgeous prints in his collections, to great effect.  I drafted the pattern myself, though I think that there are similar styles in the pattern books.  His model wears the dress below her knees.  Mine is not that long, but I have a very deep hem, so I could lengthen it easily.  Mostly I will wear this dress a summer every-day dress.

I have a close-up of the strap detail below.  It is actually a double strap, with the green strap cut on the bias, only because I patching together scraps to get enough fabric.