yes, I made ANOTHER dress......

It was very hot here in Sydney last week, which makes sense given that summer officially starts in just a few short weeks, so I decided to make a quick and simple shift dress after seeing a stunning woman wearing a beautiful red dress in the city the other day (not on my summer of the dress SWAP mind you). Of course she was very brown skinned, slim and wearing a great pair of tan heels which is probably what made her stand out so much, and I am very much pale, lumpy (for good reason) and still clomping around in heels, but I didn't let that hold me back. However the weather has turned cold again so no plans to wear this dress outside as yet, hence the indoor photo.

I've been in two minds about making more clothes at this point in time - I only have 4 days left of work (yipee!) and I'll probably spend most of my time between now and when bubs is due staying at home resting and wearing loose t-shirts and shorts. And I do have heaps of nice maternity clothes for the times I'll need to go out in public. But I still have the urge to create, and I have a big stash to get through so I've ploughed on regardless.

I made view 6 (pictured on the far right) of this 1970 Simplicity pattern with a few slight modifications - I slashed the front of the (traced) pattern to add a triangle shape wedge starting from under the bust to the hem to accommodate my belly bump, and I put in a side zipper instead of a centre back one to get easier access to the girls for breastfeeding (still not completely nursing friendly though) and cut the back piece on the fold instead.

I used some wonderful red linen I've had in the stash for absolutely ages, plus a zipper from the stash so effectively this dress cost me nada! Although I do need to get some nice tan or brown heels or possibly even some dressy flats for a more casual look to go with the dress, because I'll be honest and say the red heels I'm wearing in this photo are purely for this photo only and not to be worn outside in my current state! Good thing it's my birthday later this week, and my mum has promised to take me out shopping so I know exactly what I'll be looking for.....

Because this pattern only has two main pieces, facings and a couple of darts, it sewed up in no time. I didn't line it because it is quite a solid colour and the linen isn't that lightweight so I shouldn't have too much 'silhouette' see- through ness. And I finally have something to post over at Sew Retro too!

Whilst I'm on the subject of dressses, have you seen this post over Carolyn's diaryofasewingfanatic where she has aggregated all the dresses she made this year? She has made 14, yes 14, dresses to date and there's still 6 weeks to the end of the year. All of the dresses are just gorgeous too, not a wadder amongst them. So I decided to count up my tally - it turns out I've made 12 dresses, finished 3 UFO dresses and am currenlty about 50% through making another dress! That is so much more than I thought I had made, but I have worn them all so it was worth it.

Sorry Jean for getting you a bit excited on the last post - we still don't know the sex of the baby but I guess we'll be finding out soon enough. I really want a little girl because I have so much pretty fabric and patterns to make and the baby clothes I've made for my friends have really got me excited about it. However, I'd be equally delighted with a little boy and have been reviewing my stash to ensure I have enough denims and plaid fabrics to make some cute little jeans and button down shirts like his dad.