Thursday 14 May 2015

Summery Pauline Alice Cami Dress

My tartan version of the Pauline Alice Camí dress that I made for the Autumn of 1000 Shirtdresses is undoubtedly one of my favourite creations from last year, and I wore it a lot when the weather was still all wintery. So it's no surprise that when spring arrived I started to get the urge to sew another more summery version - and here it is!



Truthfully, the seeds of this dress were planted some time around the beginning of the year when I found this dotty cotton half price in the John Lewis sale. It was part of their 150th anniversary collection that they released last year, and I'd already used a different print from the same collection to make a Lilou dress for my Mum, so I knew it would be great to work with. Throw in pretty dots, a lovely teal colour and the fact that it was a bargain and I was sold, and from that point on it was pretty much destined to become a Camí.



For version two, I stuck with exactly the same size and modifications that I used for my first version (size 44 with 1.5 inches added to the length of the bodice and 3 inches to the skirt, and an extra button due to the added bodice length). This version seems to be slightly closer fitting than my first one, which I think is because there's slightly more give in the tartain/plaid than this crisp cotton, but they both fit nicely so it's all good.



In this version, I had a slight problem when I was attaching the collar - somehow my collar stand was too long for the neckline. I don't remember that being an issue on my first version so I think I must have been slightly imprecise when I was cutting out my fabric or something. There wasn't a massive difference though, so with a lot of pins and easing, and some ever-so-slight reshaping of the ends of the collar stand, I made it work! 



As luck would have it, I had a piece of teal poplin left in my stash from one of my very first dressmaking projects (I've learnt a lot since then!) which was an exact match for the dots on this fabric. You could call this a happy coincidence, but I think it's more likely to be an indication that I'm repeatedly drawn towards the same colours! I'm not complaining about that though, because it meant I could use the poplin to make perfectly matching covered buttons and a cute little bow belt (using a combination of tutorials from Tilly and Lauren).



The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that I don't have a button or button hole on the collar. I could claim that this was entirely intentional because I know I would never button the dress right up to the collar. That is partly true, but the main reason is because I only had 6 self-cover buttons left in my stash and I was too impatient to wait to get more! At some point I might get some more buttons and add one on the collar, but part of me thinks it isn't really necessary because it would never be used and I think the dress looks fine without it.



Given how much I liked my first version of the Camí, it's hardly surprising that I'm pretty pleased with this version too! At the moment I'm not convinced by the bow belt - I love how it looks but I think it might be a bit annoying to wear. I've still got some of the teal poplin left over though, so I might think about making another covered elastic belt instead. The dress itself is a definite success though, I'm looking forward to wearing it again! What have you been making recently?

21 comments:

  1. I adore this dress! the pattern looks great on you. I think I may have to give a go.
    Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It is a lovely pattern - I'd definitely recommend it!

      Delete
  2. It is a gorgeous dress and looks great on you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you - I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful dress! :) The fabric is just right for it! I think I might need the pattern ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yes, I do think the fabric and pattern were made for each other!

      Delete
  4. Wow, when I opened this post I was utterly blown away by this dress. I love everything about it but particularly those buttons. What an incredible dressmaker you are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww, thank you Louise - very kind of you! I have to say, I am pretty happy with how this one turned out!

      Delete
  5. I absolutely love it, brilliant.
    Joy x x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love it and I am very attracted to teal as well, I haven't put buttons at the neck of my last 2 shirt wasters, main reason being I never fasten them but it also seems difficult to make a buttonhole there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I know what you mean - when I but the buttonhole on the neck of my last Cami it was a bit tricky, so combine that with not having enough buttons and not using the top button and I definitely wasn't too worried about leaving it off!

      Delete
  7. This dress is really cute on you and the fabric works great for spring and summer. You'll have mant good times in this dress, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yes, I'm hoping that I'll have lots of opportunities to wear it!

      Delete
  8. I love this version! How lucky to have the perfect matching teal in your stash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Claire! Yes, I was really pleased when I realised how well the poplin matched!

      Delete
  9. This is so cute Ruth! I love that your belt and buttons match your polka dots. Do you have to wear a slip underneath? I just noticed that it looks a bit sheer on your back. Leaving off that last button makes the dress even more girly :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! The dress doesn't look sheer in real life - I was surprised that it looked sheer in the photo of my back! I was wearing a slip with it anyway though to stop it sticking because I had nude tights on. I think maybe I'll wear a nude slip instead of a white one in future and that might help it to not look so sheer!

      Delete
  10. What a cute, summery dress and I love the teal covered buttons. I certainly wouldn't have noticed you were missing a button at the collar either. The belt looks really sweet with the dress, I've been meaning to make one too! I wonder if it's possible to insert a piece of elastic at the back as it might feel less annoying to wear if it had a bit of stretch.

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment - it's always great to hear from you!