Red Gingham Lilou Dress

As soon as I made my first gingham lilou dress I knew I'd make another. In fact sometimes I find it difficult to not just sew the same dress over and over again if I love it. Which is why this dress originally started out as something else. I decided to challenge myself and sew a different bodice. That particular bodice was by Prima Magazine and made me look like a starter for the England rugby team. It was boxy and awful so it got scratched and I went back to my beloved Lilou pattern. What can I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.

This dress I like very much! Its not a carbon copy of my first version. This time I used a smaller check and opted to bind the edges of the placket to make it stand out a bit more. I also didn't cut the placket on the bias. Whereas it worked on my first version because it was a larger check it felt like it would be a bit wasted on this version.

That said the construction is still roughly the same, my lilou bodice with all of the usual changes [deeper back darts, and an inch off the shoulder seams] and a gathered skirt. I am debating if I need to do a bit more with the straps? My sister once mentioned that I have no shoulders so I think I may need to take a bit more off them? My other problem is the *ahem* under arm fat issue. Now I have no idea why this fat has decided to deposit itself there, I mean if your going to sit there you might as well hop across to my boob and make yourself useful. But its there and I have zero idea how to get rid of it? I looked at some pictures in a magazine [I know a stupid idea] and none of the celebrities seem to have it? Although I;m pretty sure I've read that they just lipo it out? So I guess my question is..... Can I get rid of it and do you have it? 

Other than that its a winner! The fabric was from abakhans, they have a great selection of gingham's and I sort of want a dress in every colour? I debated the pink but would that be a bit too "barbie"

By the way the buttons are from my stash and I had the hardest time finding some that would work! 

Its go a lapped zip, which is pretty neat by my standards. I didn't bother pattern matching because its a such a small check and well Life = Short. I also considered cutting the skirt as a circle skirt but by so they peeve me off when the wind blows! One small gust and its "OH HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT MY KNICKERS!" that's a lie... I don't wear knickers [No I do wear knickers, I definitely wear knickers!] 

The fit on the back seems pretty good to me there's no pull lines so I guess that means its a good fit? For some reason I'm obsessed with fit at the moment! I've even found myself look at rtw clothes on people and mentally adjusting the fit! 

This dress actually got its first outing in April to have dinner at Lil mans godfathers house with his mum and dad and fiance. We are lucky to have a great relationship with their whole family and well they do these roast potatoes and OMG. I literally have no idea how they make them taste so good! Also they have a dog which is me sold!  Anyway I felt very comfy in this dress for my roast dinner plus cake! [plus extra potatoes, and then more potatoes] I had enough room for food and the skirt is long enough for me to sit on the floor and pet the dog, and then complain when the dog left me to be petted by another human........ Dogs are so fickle!

Excuse the creases in the dress, we'll all just pretend it hasn't been sat on the bedroom floor waiting to be photographed..........

I also wore it to school a few weeks ago and one of the girls in Lil mans class asked me where I got my summer dress from....... Which basically means I dress like a child. But she liked it and after I told her that I sewed it myself she promptly told her mum to make her one....... The mother looked like she might cry and mumbled something about not owning a sewing machine!!!! [I'm so deep down the sewing rabbit hole now that the idea of not owning a sewing machine baffles me!]

In other news:

I brought a new handbag today, my old one had given up the ghost so I treated myself. Which was weird because I haven't brought something from a shop in ages! And also because I chose a relatively small one. Typically I carry a huge handbag because my anxiety tell mes I need to carry EVERYTHING. But this time I got a small one in a effort to test myself and only carry the essentials, which is far more than most women carry anyway! Three different lipsticks isn't over kill is it?

Pattern - Lilou dress from Love at first stitch by Tilly walnes

Fabric - red gingham 2m [which I used all of because of my stupid experimental bodice!!!] Abakhans 

Much love

Frankie