Lavandula

One of my dreams - to photo shoot a lavender field, came true yesterday quite by chance. It is a bit late for lavender, but while travelling we came upon this field, immediately stopped and took a few photos, just for the fun of having lavender field pictures. And as I still haven't blogged about the latest dress I sewed for Gaby, these lavender pictures seem just what was missing.

I started the dress as a toile for my Cache Cache imitation dress. As I was improvising with the upper part of the dress, I wanted to test my pattern pieces first, so I cut the bodice from some fabric scraps from a purple gingham top and dress I made for Gaby last year. The top was a hit (with a few more lines of shirring), but the dress was not approved and stayed unworn.

After I finished my Cache Cache dress, Gaby tested it, approved it and liked the idea of turning her purple gingham dress into a strap dress with a shirred back. So, I cut the skirt of her dress, removed the button placket and sewed it, tweaking it a bit to fit the new design.

Then I cut pieces of the bodice of the old dress to make the shirred bodice and the straps. The old dress was tailored and I couldn't salvage a single piece, big enough for the shirred back, so it was made out of three pieces, but it's OK, as the whole shirring makes the seams unnoticeable.

Like my own Cache Cache dress, this lavender one is fully lined with thin white cotton lawn. The outer and the lining skirts were gathered together to avoid the extra bulk.

The old dress had pockets in the side seams, which I preserved in the new dress. Gaby wore the lavender dress already (even before I had managed to fix the straps at the back permanently), so I consider it a success. Pity she wasn't with us in her dress at this lavender field - the background would have matched her perfectly.