Monday, September 7, 2009

Color Blocked Dress

(I must be losing my wit...my post titles have been quit lame of late. I'll try to do better next time!!!)

BURDA 05-117B-2009


Here is another dress I've been holding out on (sorry!!!). It is from the adorable Dresses Dresses Dresses Issue from this past May. After having a VERY difficult time locating this issue in NYC just days after it hitting the shelves (I guess all the sewnista's have my old spots pegged!) I decided to subscribe to Burda. Quite frankly, I don't know what I was waiting for...

Anyhow, back to the dress. I got this fabric from Metro Textiles for a excellent price. It's 100% cotton and appears to be a run-off from a designer named "Quest". As soon as I walked in I ran to it..I LOVE color blocking and design was funky enough for my taste and subdued enough for me to wear it to the office which is a major WIN!! If you ever get your hands on a fabric like this let me offer these suggestions:
  • Ensure you have balance. Especially with a pattern like I used. The bodice alone has 8 pieces so it looks better if you maintain the the flow of the colorway consistent with each piece. Using this approach required me to think about pattern piece several times before cutting and I did not cut on the fold for that reason. I also bought an extra yard of fabric to give me more options when cutting. You don't want a garment with a large grouping of one color on one side and several colors broken up on the other side leaving it looking "unbalanced". If the latter happens it could potentially take away from the design of the pattern once complete.
  • Beware of your lady bits!!! Don't leave oddly placed lines, flowers, cut-outs etc. around your chest or lower regions. Here is a good example of why you wouldn't want that.
The only fitting adjustments I made were to grade the from a 36 to a 38 at the hip and to shorten the hem by 2.5 inches. I'm only 5'3" so it was still at a respectable office length :-)


Back


The design does get a bit lost in the fabric pattern. I just want to show how pretty it would be even with a solid color.

Lastly, Happy Labor Day!!!!

32 comments :

Erica Bunker said...

That dress is great! So glad to see you posting!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Cindy - your dress is awesome! I bought the much more sedate black with rainbow striping cotton. Why? *LOL* We work in the same industry and you've turned out an amazing work dress...I think my co-workers are starting to rub off on me!

Rachel said...

That is AWESOME!!! It look fabulous on you.

Cennetta said...

OMG! Beautiful dress. Happy Labor Day.

Jada said...

What a beautiful dress! Good job at lining up the blocks.

Dawn said...

Wow, I love that dress with that print.

Gail said...

I have been looking at this pattern for some time and the more I see it the more I like it. I love the Dianne Von Furstenberg thing you have happening with the colour way. Great, great work. love it!

Rose said...

Great Dress! I love what you did (Ithink I have the same fabric in the same colorway). I like how you maintained the blocky sections of the fabric without straining to match everything. I'm inspired to do something similar (don't worry, I'm 3000 miles away). I think that the name on the fabric is Ogust, as in Catherine Ogust. Great job!

Rose in SV

Cas... said...

Fabulous dress. I love the color blocked material. I don't think the design gets lost in the color blocking though. It's great.

Nice to see you posting again.

Lashell said...

The dress looks great and what a great use of color blocking. I'm glad to see you back in the blogasphere. Look at everyone's work reminds me that I need to make some time for being crafty.

Meg said...

Gotta love a post that has "lady bits" in it! That dress is fabulous on you. Well done.

Sheila said...

Beautiful dress.

Opal said...

Gorgeous dress.

NuJoi1908 said...

Simply lovely.

Unknown said...

I really like the fabric you picked for this pattern. It looks so sophisticated.

ClaireOKC said...

OMG - I love this dress - it's gorgeous and how you put it together is so artistic and beautiful Lots of great uses for this classic number.

Marji said...

That's fabulous! Love the color-block - love how you arranged the blocks within the structure of that pattern.
Thanks to Carolyn for pointing me in the direction of your blog. Heard you all had a wonderful time there.

Barbara at Cat Fur Studio said...

Just gorgeous! You made that dress design sing.

elbereth said...

Inspired job on the blocking. Great choice for the pattern/fabric too. Would love to have this one in my closet!

West Coast Boomer said...

Not too original here -- Just add me as one of your adoring fans for that Super color block dress. Who cares if the title is a bit simple? It described exactly what the dress is --WOW

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pedro Garcia Millan said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
BCN - UNIQUE designer patterns said...

Merry Christmas and my wishes for a new year filled with health, happiness and all the best

MERRY CHRISTMAS Cyndi

prashant said...

That is AWESOME!!! It look fabulous on you.

Work from home India

Im Estee said...

Cute dress. So inspiring for me to get my sewing machine out.

Anonymous said...

Love it! Love love love it!

Erin Baskin said...

This is absolutely amazing!It actually looks similar to a dress I just posted on my blog! So talented! Check me out sometime!

xx,

Erin

http://ashesoflaughter.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

if you love this dress you will LOVE theses styles by designer Reuben Reuel. He also uses the Catherine Ogust print. Check them out on www.edressme.com. you will fall in love as I have.

ThatBronxGuhrl said...

HEY!!! where'd you go??? No new posts in over a year? I so enjoyed your blog, though I had to take an 18month break from my craft....

Cake Lady said...

Thats a really stylish dress, of course you have the figure to make it look great you lucky thing.Might not look quite the same on me sadly!

Beka&Yel said...

Ficou lindo
http://becaeyel.blogspot.com.br/

Patricia D. Slocum said...

Wonderful collection of fashionable dress for women. I'm totally impressed. Beautiful outfit looking very cute and amazing.You look beautiful with color block dress. Keep up updating the post regularly.....