Nani Iro Paint Spots Gabby

Before I get into this post, I just wanted to apologise for not yet having responded to the lovely comments on my last post. The school year started a couple of weeks ago here in Sydney, and my son started at a new school that's a lot less convenient for us than the school he attended last year. I had 10 days off work to sort out the transport options and a whole lot of other details ("did you say you thought you'd hire a euphonium from us?") and get new routines for both my children in place, but it still feels like we're flying by the seat of our pants (and I'm back at work now).  Being organised just doesn't come naturally to me, even with lots of helpful grandparents around! First world problems strike again, but for the moment this little blog is suffering...

Anyway, speaking of suffering - what do you get when you mix a cute pattern with a cute fabric?  


[Sound of children laughing] 

Well, of course you get a perfectly sweet child's dress - with splotches that look just like charming painting accidents :). Oh, careful with that paintbrush, darling!

[Spooky music] 

Or DO you?

[China teapot drops on tiles, and a young child bursts into tears] 

Oh dear. Oops. I'm sorry, darling, was this YOUR dress? 

 

[Sound Effects Department, deprived of tea, walks out on strike]

***************

There's nothing wrong with the fabric (I LOVE it - it's a glorious sturdy cotton/linen Nani Iro print, with a sparkly background under the paint splodges - and why should kids get all the fun?), and nothing wrong with the pattern (it's one of my faves, the Gabby dress by Tessuti Patterns).

The dress is very raw looking - selvedge colours show on the sleeve edges, and there's contrast overlocking everywhere instead of neat hems - but that's utterly intentional, and it's not what bothers me about this dress.

I think my problem is that the dress looks way too young for me.

Does that sound ageist? Generally I'm all for people wearing what they feel like, to hell with the dictates of "what to wear when you're age X" (for example, I love the wardrobes of Vivienne Westwood and Anna Maria Dell Russo), but the naive look of this fabric paired with the simple A-line shape just jars for me when I look at these photos.

Anyway, I sewed this Gabby dress pattern in a size S if I remember correctly, with about 10cm added to the length, and with the upper "bodice" cut separately as I did with my Boardwalk dress to save  fabric.  I had only about 1.5 metres of this Nani Iro fabric (from Tessuti Fabrics last year, where it now looks to be sold out, though it looks like The Drapery in Adelaide still has some in stock), so I also ended up cutting the dress a lot narrower in the skirt than indicated by the pattern - about 10cm narrower on each bottom hem side piece, so all up about 40cm narrower over the lower skirt circumference. Because the sleeves and neckline aren't hemmed, the sleeves are slightly longer than usual and the neckline slightly smaller than usual with this pattern. 

Oh and here's a photo comparing the Nani Iro Paint Spots and the Picnic Dress Gabby dimensions - lengths and widths differ, as do sleeve lengths and neckline depths: 

So who wants to help me make a cubby house with sheets on the trampoline before I hand this dress back to its proper owner? 

See you soon

- Gabrielle xx