The Tropical that Pushed Through - Annalotte (BHL Pattern Smash)

Hey Guys, 

Back again! And clearly a detour from my 'Demure' year, eh? Well seen as this was started back at the end of last May, so maybe we can give this a free pass??

Pity I ain't going to Viva this year, because this would be perfecT for the Vintage Tropicallyness that Rockabilly can be. The dress is an Anna bodice (with an altered neckline), merged with a Charlotte skirt - my first!

The alteration to the bodice (if some of you have eidetic memories) is the same as the one I did for my sparkly pink sequin dress last June. In fact, this bodice was Muslin #2. Muslin #1 was wider on the shoulder, and kept slipping off. So clearly, that had to be fixed. I may have also adjusted the scoop to be a tad lower.

You may also remember this fabric. It's the piece that never ends. I've made a skirt for my sister and myself already. Granted I bought a 5m length on Goldhawk road (about a million years ago now). I'm coming to the end now, there ain't much left!

And when I sewed it up - HOT DAMN - it fit perfectly.

I decided there and then, that the Muslin must live. I have always loved Roisin's various iterations of the Annalotte frankenpattern so I muslined myself up a Charlotte skirt too. I was a bit worried that it might have been a bit tummy hugging, but actually it was fine.

I did go to the effort of trying to adjust the skirt darts to line up with the bodice ones. I just about got the in the front (luckily there was some decent stretch to get me through the difficult times!) but Dear God I don't know what happened in the back. I thought I had the pieces the right way around, but I can't think of any other explanation!

Thankfully the darts are basically invisible in this print. And this fabric is also awesome for understitching. It was like a perfect example of stitches hugging the facing to the inside. I handpicked a lapped lemon metal zipper in (I know, more lemon zippers). I love handpicking, it's definitely my favourite method now. It may take a little longer but I end up with a much better result. 

Does anyone else love hair flowers? I need to wear more hair flowers. And I wish I could carry my parasol around more often. It makes you feel AWEsome :) Ahhhh Vegas... good times. I also bought these black wedges for the holiday but couldn't decide that they were comfy enough for long periods of time before we left. I held onto them though. Hee hee...

Has anyone noticed the pile of fabric peeking into the frame? That's my special fabric.

My special specials.

The only thing about the dress that I did consider (but not that hard, because I forgot) was the need for a back vent. But I can separate the back seam pretty handy down the line. It'll only take me 5 minutes.

As you can see. Not so much in the climbing over or into things department. I am usually awesome at that. We are having a 'keep the car till it dies' sort of situation. So most days if I'm driving I get out of the passenger side of the car. I swear, I'm out in 2 seconds flat. 

It it does make me feel super wiggly though. I didn't line it either, so it's a no tights zone. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to line. Plus this stretch cotton is pretty substantial.

I think I'm definitely going to make another Charlotte skirt before long. My favourite all time version is Fiona's green wool beauty. Believe me, it's even better in person. And we all know how much I love a pegged skirt. This is the full length by the way, I think with about a 2cm turn up. I stitched the hemline first of all to help me turn it up nice and even and I pressed it in place with some Steam-a-Seam I got for a bargain (if you haven't encountered it, it's like a mini Wundaweb). I haven't sewn it in yet, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out a length before committing.

So there we have it. A seasonally inappropriate dress! 

It isn't quite Jungle January in the animal print sense, but I'm still in a Jungle ;)

LYLT,

Emmie x