The weather cleared up a few hours ago, and now the girls are both asleep – each in their own room. Frida has been sleeping in her room for four nights now, and there have been no problems at all – fabulous. That girl just loves to get her sleep!
However – back to my last sewing project.
Mads was out Saturday night, and I was supposed to have a good friend visiting, who regretfully had to cancel because of a severe migraine. Too bad, because we haven’t seen each other for a while and I was looking forward to it. We’ll see each other soon anyway, though – so it’ll be alright.
Nevertheless, I had a welcome opportunity to do some sewing, making the “Tie-back” tunic from the latest issue of Ottobre. I wanted it to be a bit more colourful than the “China grass” dress, because otherwise they could easily end up looking a bit too similar. The fabric I had chosen was a gorgeous design from Michael Miller by Sandi Henderson (she makes some beautiful fabrics) – the Ginger Blossom Buds Avocado. To match it, I had found some delicious lime coloured linen from the Danish designer Bitte Kai Rand. Finally for the ties, I wanted to go with a contrast using red fabric with white dots.
First up were the ties for the back of the tunic – they took me a looooong time to make! It wasn’t easy turning them right side out, and once I had them all turned, I found out that I didn’t press open the seams well enough. This meant that I had to open them up while on the inside of the ties, before pressing the ties. Phew! That tought me a lesson – remember when it says to press seams open, it’s probably important… After this everything basically went together really well and without any problems – until I was pretty much finished with the whole thing, and I found out that I had stitched on the ties too close to the center-back edges – or to be more specific, the ties were placed correctly, but the stitches came too close to the edges. I think I forgot about the center-back seam allowances when stitching the ties in place, and consequently I had to redo the seams, because otherwise there wouldn’t be room enough to tie the knots, and the back would actually have a gap of an inch between the edges.
When Mads returned home from his party at about 1:30 a.m., I was still sewing…
Now everything that went wrong due to my mistakes is fixed, I certainly learned a few lessons, and the “Tie-back” tunic is finished. I think that the bodice is a bit wide, but I like it a lot, and more importantly, Ronja does too! As soon as I get the chance, I’ll get a modeled picture for you.
We want models!
We want models!
We want models!
We want models!
We want models!
Clear? 😉
Dejlig kjole og så er jeg NØDT til at vide, hvordan du har fået fat i hør fra Bitte :o)
What a lovely dress!
Kind regards,
Sonnja & Beertje Zonn
from the Netherlands
Jakob – good things come to those who wait! 😉
Hanne – Tak skal du have. Jeg fandt det faktisk i Stofdillen (af alle steder) til 60 kr. meteren! Tjekkede lige online – her er den brune (som nr. 2). Jeg købte den i min lokale butik i Køge.
Hi Sonnja – thanks a lot! 😉
Wow! This is so cool! The color combos are fantastic. Thanks for leaving a comment. I’m so happy to have found your blog. 🙂
Wow – den er godt nok imponerende smuk….dejlig blog at finde – hen må jeg kigge mig omkring!!
Kh Susanne
So cute! I had a feeling those ties might be a pain but they turned out fantastic 🙂 My china grass dress is still in progress. Your’s looks simply precious 🙂
Wow that is a gorgeous dress, you did a great job and the fabrics co-ordinate beautifully.
michelle – thanks a lot – the feelings are mutual! 😉
susanne v – Tusinde tak – du er meget velkommen! 🙂
Jenny – Yes, I think the ties are just fine too – you actually only have to untie the top one – it’ll easily slip over her head. And thank you! 🙂
lazylol – thank you so much! 🙂
This dress is outstanding….love it. The ties are both clever (functionally) and adorable. Well done!
Love the blog, and thanks for stopping by my blog! 🙂
I hope you knock on wood after saying she likes her sleep. =)
The tunic looks great, I like the red accent. Thanks for sharing your issues with it. I probably would have sewn right up the tie edge too…
What, I did not leave a comment??? Shame on me. First of all the dress is gorgeous! I love the fabrics you put together, and the hanger is too cute for words. Yes, model it please. So many people have made this dress, but I have not seen it modeled once. Great work as always, Astrid.
Melanie – I SO do! But it has been going on for so long now, she would take me totally by surprise if she started waking up during the night! (Knock on wood…) Thanks for you nice comment! 🙂
Jeannine – You’re the sweetest! However, I did post it modeled – also in the group. In my blog, you will find it here. 😉