Well, one day down in the hundred dresses for The Hundred Dresses march! Does anyone else have “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer” stuck in their heads? Just me?
This dress had a sneak preview back in February, both as background in a sewing-room shot, and as a pocket view — it’s an Echino fabric 9929:
Here are a couple more close-up views of the bodice:
and the binding:
and the border on the skirt:
And the side zip, which needs a little bit of repair already — I didn’t backstitch enough above the zipper, and it’s coming undone. That stretch of seam above the zipper is always a big stress point in my dresses. I’m never sure whether to reinforce it, or start the zipper higher, or what. Suggestions?
And the pocket:
And the back:
I’ve worn this a couple of times, and it’s a gratifying experience. Some of my dresses have something I privately call the LGG factor, where LGG stands for “little girl glee”. Basically, a high-LGG dress is one that gets waves and compliments from the under-eight set, and this is definitely a high-LGG dress. (I would also call this a “Garden Party” dress, one of the hundred dress types in the book …)
Weirdly, although there are so many colors in this dress, I have trouble cardigan-matching it. Nothing I have is exactly that turquoise in the birds’ wings, which is the color I’d like to match … so I default to the bright pink.
A Dress A Day 
awww – this fabric!!!!!! envy!
for the zip: i know the problem, so i use little scraps of iron on muslin and then backstich with not too small stitches. and use poly yarn, not cotton. this works even with pongé silk fabric.
in my newest dresses i skip the zip for a strait top and wear a belt for waist definition. (my bust waist ratio is 25cm)
if you like to see – look at my blog 🙂
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that is very skilled use of border prints
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Gorgeous – a dress with personality! I can imagine how much it must lift your spirits when you put it on 🙂
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Fabulous! I love how you’ve used the fabric. A dress I made early on does this too. I’m thinking re-inforcement might be the way to go, although I don’t think I’ve ever had the problem again.
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Ooooo! I love this one! And 100 dresses? Thanks! The next time my husband suggests that I have enough dresses I can show him this.
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Oh, this is just too gorgeous!
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Oh wow, how much do I love this dress? I love this dress A LOT.
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What a lovely dress. So cheery and summery.
I think a pink cardigan would be lovely.
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100 dresses? You have made 100? I’m speechless, although when I stop to think about it, after reading your blog for ages, I guess it is entirely possible. Well, some sort of congrats and wild all weekend party are due in honor of this achievement, maybe after that last one, I think.
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Oooohhhh I love this dress. It would make me happy every time I opened my closet to see that sweet dress in there and to wear it? I would be giddy.
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Put the side zip in upside down, so that it opens from bottom to top. That relieves stress on the zipper opening end, with the additional benefit that your zip won’t walk itself down as you go through the day. (It’s much harder for a zip to walk itself up.) This is how my theater costume professor taught us to install side zips for stage costumes. It works great for real- life clothing, too.
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Whoa. Upside down! You just BLEW MY MIND. I’m going to try it.
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I second Erin! Mind = Blown! Of COURSE! Brilliant.
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Wow – that is awesome! I have to try an upside down zipper!
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How I love bird prints. This is gorgeous!
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The Hundred Dresses!!! Wheeeeee! Congratulations! I am full of LGG at the prospect of both your book and seeing your dresses. I’m not sure what possessed me, but I made a dress in primary-colored dinosaurs on red background (wait for it…) with skeletons that glow in the dark. I had always been pretty matronly in my dresses, and it took me awhile to learn to wear this one graciously because people cannot refrain from commenting on it (and not infrequently flicking off the lights). It is my go-to LGG dress. Love your border print birds! And the pocket!
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Love the dress and these series of posts! Are you going to have a book signing again, that was alot fun with the other book…
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Gorgeous!
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This dress is perfect. It is the perfect dress. The end.
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Oh, I love this dress. The fabric is wonderful, and the simple cut is perfect.
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Fabric is divine!
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Oh my gosh, I looooooove that! I am totally subscribing to your blog. I’d love to see how you style it!
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I own this fabric in another colorway! I just love it. Alas since my sewing skills are still incipient, I made a circle skirt from the “bottom half” of the pattern and I’m saving the “top half” for another project.
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Lovely! I have this fabric as well, and have been looking for a pattern to use. Thanks for the inspiration- now I just need to get off my behind and get it done!
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