I'm absolutely smitten with Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Voile. The softness, the subdued yet vibrant color palettes, the lightweight, silky drape ... I love it all. And I love that I can make grown-up dresses out of actual apparel fabric! Don't get me wrong ... I love quilting weight cottons for apparel - and I use them all the time for skirts and dresses, but there's just something about sewing with fabric that was actually intended to be used for clothing -- it moves, it drapes, it hardly wrinkles, and it feels like heaven against my skin.
The pattern I used is New Look 6723 - commonly referred to as the Audrey Hepburn dress. I've had it for quite a while, and this is the third dress I've made with it. All three look completely different ... I'm planning another post comparing all three to show the versatility of it, and how a few creative alterations can completely change the final product.
Actually, this is the first dress that follows the pattern exactly. The only changes I made were to use an invisible zipper and a blind hem. I chose the sweetheart neckline
instead of the bateau, and I love how it turned out. It feels a little 1950s housewife, but the fabric is completely modern.
I wasn't sure I'd like the gathered skirt - I used pleats on the other two variations, but I think it works so well with this lightweight voile.
The bodice is lined with another Little Folks print ... I debated using more LF since it won't be seen, but I wanted the feel of voile for the entire dress, and besides, it looks awfully pretty on the hanger.
The most beautiful part? The entire dress is 100% cotton. Machine washable, cool, breathable - perfect for the hot, humid summer ahead.
Gorgeous dress! Did you leave the skirt unlined then? How is the sheerness factor working for you? I want to make a dress with Little Folks (that very print and color, actually), but I'm a bit unsure of how sheer it will be.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah. Thanks for the compliment. I did not line the skirt... I would with a lighter-color voile, but I don't think it's necessary with this darker shade - the saturation of color helps to block out light.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, thanks! I'm excited to have a Little Folks dress of my own sometime in the future.
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