As promised, the penultimate Duro … this is Amy Butler Morning Glory Slate (yesterday I thought it was Lotus, but I think that's the name of the line, not the pattern). Anyway, as you can see, it marks a return to piping. I also piped the bottom of the midriff, which you really can't see here, but which lets me someday decide to wear the sash tied in the back (as if).
Here's the back, which has no piping:
As you can see, I made no effort whatsoever to match this pattern on the back.
Here's a slightly closer view of the bodice:
When I first saw this fabric I lurved it, couldn't wait for it to arrive, had all sorts of plans for it … and then I waited. I had ordered it through … well, I ordered it from some folks who were not very well organized, and so I waited. And I waited, and I sent some emails, and then I waited some more, until when it finally DID come, I was so over it that I didn't really want to look at it. I kept dragging it out and looking at it and then folding it up again and putting it back on the shelf. I'm glad I was so exasperated, though, because otherwise I would have used this up three times over and would not have had it available for the Duro Jr.
I made one more Duro Jr … it's sitting upstairs in my suitcase and I haven't taken a picture of it yet. I'll try to do that soonish-like. (I'll give you one hint: it's made from one of the fabrics I just bought in Japan.)
A Dress A Day 
My favorite of the Duro Jrs. I love it. You sew so well. (She sews so swell – say that ten times, fast!)Can’t wait to see the next Duro Jr.
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Ah! This fabric is amazing. All the colors are colors I coordinate regularly into the wardrobe. And I love the piping.I wish I could sew as fast!
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Wow, two thumbs up for piping!
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wow – I like this one the BEST! I love the piping, I must get this pattern – it looks good in everything!
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The piping really makes it. The other one was nice, but with no contrast fabric or piping you couldn’t really see the shapes. I really like the blue and grey. Some people seem to really go nuts for Amy Butler fabrics – haven’t been bitten so far myself. I mean I like it, but I’m not trawling the internet trying to find some. (orange bandana on the other hand, very cool).No you didn’t make any effort whatsoever to match the pattern on the back. But does it matter? Please, this is not a rhetorical question. I really want to know, does it matter? I can see me agonising for weeks about trying to match ANY and EVERY pattern to match, being the detail obsessive that I am. But (apart from not ‘labelling’ your breasts with a target) will anyone notice. Has anyone ever said.. you know the back doesn’t match?I’d notice, but I do hope I’d be polite enough to keep that helpful comment to myself! And if I ever saw you, in one of your dresses, I’m pretty sure that would be the last thing on my mind!Keep sewing!!Cheers,AJ
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The piping does indeed make the Duro Dress. Congrats!
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Gods, Erin, this is just…beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. This pattern is topping my list of spring/summer 2009 sewing plans. So what are your pattern recommendations for fall?
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Ooh, I love it! Must add this pattern to my ridiculously long list of patterns to sew up…
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This is so loverly, I actually gasped! Inspiring!!
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1) I LOVE piping! I am the PIPING QUEEN! The PIPING MAKES the dress!2) As to “matching the print: does it matter?” I took some classes from Cynthia Guffey, the sewing diva, and she says if you want a couture look, you MUST match the print, stripe, or plaid. In this case, at least the front inset should be matched. 3) Erin, it’s still beautiful!
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another winner!cindy
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The piping makes this dress. The fabric is nice, but the accent piping shines! Nice application of a favored pattern! (And why wouldn’t you want to tie it in back? Just because it would make you feel 12 years old again?)
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Once again it’s happened that you posted 2 dresses on consecutive days and on the first day I thought “What a lovely print and a great dress” and on the second day I thought “This one’s an even more amazing dress!” (I also had these thoughts when you first posted your own Duros here followed by here.)
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I love that print for this dress! It looks great.
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The piping makes the dress! Its wonderful.@xstpenguin,Personally, I’m a pattern matcher if the match can be made. I’ve worn a lot of cheap RTW clothes in my life and one of the tell-tales of cheap clothing is poor pattern matching. I just can’t bring myself to ignore the pattern in any fabric that a pattern repeat can be detected.Its a personal decision. Mine is influenced by my teen years spent in a high school that included blue-collar mill towns, new money, and old money. As a mill town girl in the college track with the money kids it was important to match the money kids’ L.L. Bean and local boutique look even though my clothes were either homemade or from Hills (like K-Mart but cheaper). Otherwise I didn’t have as good a chance at jobs, volunteer opportunities, and scholarships.So I learned to match plaids and prints to the millimeter, at least at center front and center back, and to this day don’t feel right about doing otherwise — even though today’s middle and higher-end RTW clothes are not as rigorously matched until you’re at the couture level. Not-matching can be done in an artful way that says casual, rather than careless, but it takes a certain eye for it. Erin has that eye. Not many do.
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I love everything about this, fabric included.
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I thought I didn’t like duros but this one changed my mind. It is SO gorgeous, the fabric, the piping, everything! I am convinced!
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Erin,That Age of Empire post messed up the web site formatting, at least for people that use Internet Explorer 6. (or it could just be this machine, since no one else has commented.) All your Ad banners are way down at the bottom of the page, below all the posts.Regarding the dresses: Both Duros are lovely! I think I like the redpink better, but thats because I can wear those colors. But you did a great job on both of them!
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I as always admire the spirit and craftsmanship, but must say yesterday’s dress speaks to me more. I think it’s because there’s less contrast. I swear to god, my mother went through a period as a free-spirited divorcee/dancer where she would work at children’s parties as a clown (!) She was a very good and attractive clown and she certainly sewed neat costumes, but sometimes she dressed my sister and me up to do the parties with her (please DON’T do this to your children), and ever since, we’ve both felt nervous in brightly contrasting clothes with big prints. So, yesterdays Duro Jr. struck just the right tone for me. Bright and catchy, but not “patchworky”. Anyway, that’s my confession for the day: I Was An Enslaved Clown.
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I can’t imagine the agonizing torture of waiting and waiting for that fabricit is SO fabulous on every level. I’ve never found an Amy Butler with which I’ve fallen desperately enough in love to commit to purchasing, but this one fits the bill for me. The piping, my friend, is genius.
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I can’t imagine the agonizing torture of waiting and waiting for that fabric And what of the agonizing torture of being an enslaved CHILD CLOWN?! It may have just been for a summer, but Im telling you, this was good for years of therapy!
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The piping looks beautifully done.
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Even though I am sure that being an unwilling child clown must be very traumatic, it makes a most excellent story! So’s you know, cookie, I’m filing this and your jilted-party idea way for future fiction.. please, keep with the anecdotes!
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i really love this one and the piping is so appropriate!
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I love love love the piping! There are some Amy Butler fabrics that I like but I haven’t liked any of them enough to buy them… yet.
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hahaha Oh Theresa! She sell what she sews so well by the seashore?That print is tres groovy, Erin.. so vibrant and just.. GAH!!
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I think this rulez, too.It is very Erinish. I hereby declare that a real word to describe dresses and skirts with that certain Erin panache. This so could be the picture for the entry in encyclopedias and wikis the universe over.Cookie, clowns scare me.In the immortal words of Bart Simpson:Can’t sleep. Clown will eat me!Can’t sleep. Clown will eat me!Can’t sleep. Clown will eat me!
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Love this fabric with the piping. Bravo!
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Cookie, I really want you to write a tragic memoire about this. Please?
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The dress is beautiful. Great work I love it!
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Poor Poor Traumatized Cookie. Lorwill – my sister and I are terrified of clowns. My son is creeped out by dolls. I used to have a Mona Lisa doll on my bed (till the dog chewed it). My son would not come in my room if the doll was there.
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Poor Poor Traumatized Cookie. Lorwill – my sister and I are terrified of clowns. My son is creeped out by dolls. I used to have a Mona Lisa doll on my bed (till the dog chewed it). My son would not come in my room if the doll was there.
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Erin,Matching prints really isn’t that hard. Challenge yourself. You’re a smart person. You can do it.
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I love the Duro Jr but I’m not a fan of the solid/print contrast. Piping is the answer to my particular farbic dilema. Thanks. I have never like clowns. They are creepy. Anyone who goes to that much trouble to hide thier face is not trustworthy. -evalyn
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Oh, Erin, I’m so happy you used the word “penultimate” correctly. That poor word has taken so much abuse in the past ten, fifteen years! Bravo!
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Yeah, I really love that fabric. And with the piping it’s superb. And, as I’m not english-speaking normaly (I’m from sweden), I learnd a new word for me “piping”
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OH! MY! GOODNESS! The fabric and pattern are truly made for one another. As always, Erin: great job!And now I’m going to go try to find that pattern…
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Just found your site and love it! This fabric is fantastic – I’ve always loved piping, just finishes the look perfectly. Thanks so much!
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Love this dress, do you sell them? I’m i9n love with big prints, like the topshop (kate moss) poppy dress, shopgoldyn.com had some beautiful prints too, you should look to top up your inspiration.
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No joke, I love this one. -serg
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No joke, I love this one. -serg
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The piping makes the print absolutely pop! Love it. 🙂
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I think it is beautiful! I love the red piping.
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