Thursday 26 February 2015

Maria Denmark Edith in Blue

As I was rushing out the door on my way to work this morning, I managed to talk my darling husband into putting on his photographer's hat and taking a few shots of my third attempt at the Maria Denmark Edith Dress


You can read about my earlier attempts here and here. As the saying goes "third time's the charm". I am really happy with both the fit and the fabric for this one.



The fabric was purchased locally at Patchwork on the Bay. It is a lovely soft 100% cotton chambray. The colour is a lovely blue with black undertones. The bright blue threads can be seen along the selvedge. This was a lovely fabric to work with. It sewed and pressed beautifully... a very well behaved fabric which certainly added to the pleasure of sewing.


My pattern alterations can be seen much clearer in this version with the plain fabric. It was rather difficult to see the details of dart placement etc in my second version with the jungle inspired print.


I only had 2.5 metres of this fabric (112cm wide) so I had to piece the self made bias binding together to finish off the kimono sleeves. This worked out fine and I'm glad I went to the extra effort to do this.


I found these blue buttons at the same shop that I purchased the fabric from. They are a perfect match and the shop owner even threw in an extra button, no charge, as it was the last one left in the tube. This could come in handy if I ever lose one. Love the service at Patchwork on the Bay. I did some research on which direction button holes should be sewn and I discovered that garments with a button band usually have vertical buttonholes as there is not enough room to make horizontal buttonholes. That made complete sense to me, but this dress doesn't have a button band, it has a generous facing that allows plenty of room for horizontal buttonholes. I thought horizontal buttonholes would be safer...less likely for any wardrobe malfunctions if the buttons are put under any strain.


I have had some fun accessorising with different coloured necklaces and scarves to change the look. I think the blue is a little plain on it's own and benefits from a splash of contrasting colour. Very happy with this one!

Happy Sewing

17 comments:

  1. Yay a shirtdress! This is a stunner. I adore the blue chambray and the fit is perfection. You have done a wonderful job with this and you will get so much use from it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Sue for your lovely comment. I have already worn this dress several times.

      Delete
  2. Aw this dress looks like a perfect fit for you now. Great colour too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great color. You nailed it on this version. I'll bet you wear this lots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda. Third time's the charm! It's already in regular rotation in my wardrobe.

      Delete
  4. Great dress. Very nicely made.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks BeaJay. I did take care with this one and tryed to sew everything as neat as possible, instead of just rushing ahead to get it finished. The fabric was quite expensive.

      Delete
  5. Very smart shirt dress and you have got it looking great on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sharon for your very complimentary comment.

      Delete
  6. Great fit and I am loving the chambray!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Andrea. The fabric is lovely and there was a choice of several different colours too, so I may be back for some more.

      Delete
  7. Another great Edith! I might just have to check out Patchwork at the Bay next time I'm down your way, too. You've found some great fabric there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Paola. It's a shame Patchwork on the Bay's stock is limited to quilting cottons and a few cotton shirting fabrics as well as this chambray in several colours. But it is well worth a visit if you are in town.

      Delete
  8. A very smart shirtdress. I like the fittedness of this style a lot, hmmm I know that's not a word but you know what I mean! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carolyn. The fit is not too blousey...if that's a word. :-)

      Delete
  9. Thanks for sharing, nice post! Post really provice useful information!

    An Thái Sơn chia sẻ trẻ sơ sinh nằm nôi điện có tốt không hay võng điện có tốt không và giải đáp cục điện đưa võng giá bao nhiêu cũng như mua máy đưa võng ở tphcm địa chỉ ở đâu uy tín.

    ReplyDelete