Hi everyone,
I am so excited about my first blog post for the Sunshine Bloggers Team! When I was asked to be part of it, other than being RIDICULOUSLY excited, I was all ice creams in my head because I knew I HAD to use the amazing Rico Design ice cream cotton fabric for my make.
My plan was to make a shirt with it, something with a bit of structure that would counteract the overtly cuteness of the fabric. I felt a skirt or something swishy would be a bit too much! Anyway, I went with the Style Arc Italia Shirt Dress which is quite similar to the Tilly and the Buttons Rosa Dress, I think.
Although I originally intended to make a short shirt to be worn as a top, this fabric is so wide, it was obvious I'd be able to make the full shirt dress option so I embraced it!
I wanted this to be a really garment of my dreams so I went to extra efforts all the way through. There was quite a few optional parts, like the pockets, front placket tab, the cuff tabs but I did them all and I also made attempts to pattern match as much as I could! The fabric is quite busy so I don't think it matters if you can't quite manage it but I'm pleased I've managed it for the most part!
I also highlighted parts using a pink piping, I put this along the pockets and the back yoke and love the look of it.
The fabric is an absolute dream to work with, it cuts really nicely. Obviously a lot of precision was needed to make the collar, plackets and cuffs but it pressed really well, so it made the whole process really enjoyable. I usually get a bit bored of garments which take a long time, with lots of steps but I could fully embrace it when the fabric made me so happy all the way through!
After really taking my time over this make, I was seriously procrastinating over adding the button holes. I asked my fellow bloggers what they thought though and the general consensus was to use bright pink poppers so that served two purposes. 1. It got me out of doing button holes. 2. They look really cool!
I'm so pleased with the overall look of it. I think it looks really cool and quirky and exactly what I was looking for. I'm so glad I went to all the extra efforts to make the optional parts and French seam it all. I know this is going to be a favourite outfit for a long time.
You can follow my sewing journey and read my own blog over on my instagram account @emmaandhermachine.
This is so good I love all the details like the piping and poppers! Really finish it off nicely well done! Next on my list is definitely gonna have to be a shirt!