Wednesday 17 December 2014

DIY Sweetheart Dress & Kumquat Trees

This is the best dress that I have ever made. I am so ludicrously proud of it! If you follow me on instagram then you might have seen the progression of this dress from bedsheet to cute vintage dress over the past week. The whole dress is made entirely (apart from the bias tape around the bust and zipper which were separately thrifted) from a bedsheet that I picked up from the thrift store the other day - even the buttons!
I made up my own pattern for this dress (and yes I am working on a tutorial for it!), and I'm very happy with how it fits! I just used a basic circle skirt pattern for the bottom half, making it a little bit longer than I usually make my circle skirts to give it more of a "vintage" feel.
The heart pockets were a brilliant suggestion by Carbon Chic - seriously, Demi has been like my sewing fairy godmother for the past year or so, because she is always inspiring me and giving me amazing ideas for my sewing! They were the perfect finishing touch that my dress required. I'm super excited because Demi is actually coming to visit me this weekend in Sydney. As well as going op-shopping together, we're aiming to join creative forces and have some kind of "sew-off" session - I'm really looking forward to what will result!
For this entire past week I have been staying at a wonderful beach house down the south coast. As I wandered down into the backyard the other day to take photos of my dress, I discovered that the house we are staying in has a giant kumquat tree! Not only is it pretty to pose with, I also LOVE kumquats. I am obsessed with all things sour - seriously, I could eat sour lollies all day long (in fact, when I was a kid I ate sour things so much that my tongue would literally bleed & I'm also someone who can easily drink a cup vinegar), so naturally, kumquats are one of my all-time favourite fruits.
(This is me stealing all the kumquats to take home with me, haha).
Dress - handmade by me | shoes - Katie's (from Estonia) | necklace - c/o Ginger Pickle

Little science fact for the day - did you know that kumquats can form hybrids with other citrus fruits? Many varieties of hybrids exist including lemonquats, limequats, and fukushu, which is a mandarin-kumquat hybrid. I wonder if Lemonquats would be even more sour than both lemon and kumquats individually are? If so, I want to eat all of them! What's the most sour food that you've ever eaten? (I'm on a bit of a quest to find the most sour foods in the world).

I'm not really sure how I progressed so quickly from dressmaking to sour foods there, but in any case, I hope you're all having a really great day!

All my love,






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24 comments:

  1. The dress looks brilliant! I love the heart pockets. I think my reaction was, 'omg heart pockets?! How did she think of this?!' and then you explained...

    I'm not the biggest sour foods fan, though I do remember having the same tongue-bleeding reaction after waaaaayyy too many warheads at the pool as a kid.

    Xx

    Ellen

    www.ellenbourne.blogspot.com.au

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  2. AHHHH IT LOOKS SO GOOOOD! You're too kind really, the pocket suggestion was just an off-the-cuff comment! I'm starting to pin more things to do with patch pockets on Pinterest, I really can't be bothered making concealed pockets anymore.. And they look more vintage-y. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

    But I can't wait to join forces over the weekend--I'm beyond absurdly excited about it, I haven't been able to stop talking about it to anyone who will listen--my mother, my friends, the mailman..

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  3. omg that dress you made is literally perfect! kudos on the 100% thrifted materials (well almost) and the cute little pocket hearts.
    So excited for the sewing session, I'm sure the end result will be amazing!

    http://secret-hipster.blogspot.com.au/

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    Replies
    1. Actually the zipper & bias tape were thrifted as well - I should put that in my post :)

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    2. And thank you, you lovely lovely thing :)

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  4. I can't believe you made that, so clever!

    Love a bit of gingham :) so nice for summer!

    A Forte For Fashion

    X

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  5. Oh-so lovely, all made from a thrifted bedsheet!! Absolutely love the heart pockets too. :]
    ♡ Dulce

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  6. Funny, I just tried kumquats for the first time yesterday - and then you go and make this post :D

    Can't wait for the tutorial, the dress looks super lovely! Do you think a beginner could do it? My mum recently got me a sewing machine, but I haven't really used it yet.

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    1. It's probably a bit hard for beginners but will be simple enough that it would be a project a beginner could tackle maybe over a week or so (or at the very least, attempt!)

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  7. Gorgeous dress, it's so good!! You are amaaazing :D I have never tried a kumquat, but if they are sour I would love them! I also love all things sour! People find it weird that I cut up lemon slices and eat them, but I don't think that's weird at all! x
    amber love

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    Replies
    1. Hahahaha, I do the exact same thing! - you would totally love kumquats ;)

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  8. Gahhh this is perfection!!! Pastel, gingham, cute buttons, heart pockets?! I can't stand it!! I've never tried a kumquat!

    xox Sammi

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  9. I'm so impressed by your dress making skills! I've never tried a kumquat before - or even see one in the flesh - but i'm one of those people that are into ridiculously sour things as well. it seems you either love sour food or hate it!

    cheap-skatefashion.blogspot.com

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  10. So cuuute! I actually used one of your tutorials to make a top the other day (I still need to make the skirt for the rest of the two piece) and as my first sewing project from scratch it turned out really well, just thought you should know <3

    The Quirky Queer

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    Replies
    1. Ahhh that's awesome!! Send me pics when you are done? 👌👍

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    2. Aha yeah I will definitely make an outfit post with it when I'm done <3

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  11. I love this dress, I covet it enviously

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  12. That's so nice You should be so proud of making it!
    Tegan xx - Permanent Procrastination

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  13. I remember reading a small book that was completely about oranges. It has lots of fun history information, but also some sciencey stuff. The entire citrus family is super interchangeable, and when the book was written (in the 50s) they classified all citrus as one species. But there are actually a few species, but there are lots of hybrids out there. Try are probably one of the most interesting fruit out there, and makes me want to pick up that book again

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    Replies
    1. That is so interesting!! I am totally going to have to look more into the genetics of citrus fruit.

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  14. Lovely! The heart pockets are the perfect finishing touch ^___^

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  15. Annika this is beautiful. I'm really nervous about making my own clothes, far more daunting than cushions and plushies. You have to do a tutorial of this on Youtube! I think I'll start with one of your circle skirts though, won't run before I can walk! x

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  16. PLEASE DO A TUTORIAL ON THIS, IT IS SO AMAZING!!

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