LONSDALE IN TECNICOLOUR

A very exciting thing happened this summer. My girlfriend Anna has been bragging/raving about her family's fabric store for years. Unfortunately said fabric store was in Winnipeg. For those of you unfamiliar with arcane Canadian geography, let's just say that the 'peg is is halfway to nowhere, smack dab in the middle of the country. Not really the kind of place I can jet off to so I can check out an entire room of dead vintage fabric stock, no matter how much I would like to. Their store has been in the family since the 40's and for some reason they have a huge room filled with amazing vintage fabric. Anna had instagrammed a photo of one of the shelves and I had a melt down. She agreed to text shop for me. The next day, she walked around sending me photos of all their vintage cotton while I texted back "OMG THE ONE ON THE RIGHT", "THE NEON PAISLEY 2ND FROM THE TOP" (all in caps and crying emojis). I ended up with 25 yds of pristine 60's and 70's cotton prints.

This happened.

Never mind that I was on a fabric buying moratorium. When your friend long distance text shops for you from the fabric store that time forgot, you don't say no. You scream at your cell phone at work while your coworkers roll their eyes. And then you unpack a giant box a week later and dance around your apartment, draped in a psychedelic kaleidoscope of rainbow prints. OBVIOUSLY.

I knew right away how to dive into this pile of awesome. After admiring so many Sewaholic Lonsdales, I took the plunge and purchased the pattern this summer. I knew the pink and white geometric/floral print would be an inspired mash up.

It was.

Isn't this print insane? I love it when geometric and floral prints explode and make trippy pink babies. The fabric itself was a nice sturdy cotton I double washed. I only had 3 meters and the Lonsdale calls for 4 so I got REALLY creative with my pattern piece layout. Obviously pattern matching wasn't really an option given my fabric shortage but I'm pretty happy with the final placement.

(If anyone is ever in Winnipeg, Manitoba, be sure to stop by Mitchell Fabrics and explore the giant room of vintage fabrics!)

I cut a size 8 and it would have fit almost perfectly had I not made any adjustments. However, after my first fitting with the lining I took in a bit too much at the sides. This dress is kind of tricky to fit unless you make the whole thing up because of how the straps tie, and it turns out I didn't need to take it in at all. When I tried the assembled bodice on I got major boob flatten-age. My only option was to minimize my seam allowance at the back zipper since I had already serged the seams. It's still a little too snug in the bust but only I can really tell. Next time, I'll make the straight size 8, although I may raise the waistband a little as it sits about 1" below my natural waist and bunches enough to bother me.

Please ignore my very visible zipper. After messing with the seam allowance there and experimenting with a new method for inserting them it got a bit wonky. Seriously, it looks like the first zipper i ever installed. I was just so excited to wear this beauty I couldn't be bothered to tear it out and try again.

I loooooooove this dress. It's the most perfect summer frock and works at the office and picnics in equal measure. If autumn wasn't looming in the not so distant future I'm sure I would be making another. It's such a creative, innovative design and the way the straps attach to the bodice is pretty brilliant. Tasia, you're a genius! (I'm pretty pumped to make my Sewaholic Cordova jacket this fall.)

Speaking of fall...I may or may not (um, definitely may) be planning a trip to NYC in September. I was about to place a huge online order at Mood before I realized it would really make more sense for me to just go down in person, right? Right??!! Please help me to justify the huge fabric binge I have planned.... My stash is pretty overflowing but I want to focus on pants and jeans as it cools down and I'm not really stocked with denim and wool. YET. Bwa haha.

I'm trying to stick to a resolution I made recently to hit NYC at least once a year... it's so close and I have so many friends who live there it's pretty ridiculous to not make the effort. The nice thing about having gone a number of times already is that I can skip the tourist stuff and not feel guilty about spending a whole day in the fabric district.