stupendously exciting announcement!!

The dress that I designed earlier this year for Dahlia is now available for sale exclusively at Ever + Mi Crush!! It's available in sizes small, medium and large in limited quantities, so if you're interested in snagging one, hurry hurry hurry! ;)

I'm so excited about this!! As I said in my original post about the dress, I had thought the dress was going to be available to purchase and was slightly heartbroken when I found out it wasn't. Then Christen from Ever + Mi Crush swooped in to the rescue and arranged this wonderful exclusive limited run! It's been so much fun working together and I'm so excited about this collaboration!! :D

The dress is a beautiful cream color with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar and sheer bell sleeves. It comes with a matching cream belt with a warm grey buckle and pretty grey buttons on the collar.






As an added bonus, the first 10 orders will all receive a signed print of my original design sketch! The dress was inspired by Hypatia; her warm grey and light cream coloring, her fragile beauty, and her innate sweetness. Ever + Mi Crush named the dress after her, too -- it's called The Hypatia Dress!



This is my inspiration board for the dress. My main concept was creating something that looked like vintage but would actually fit (oh how many times I've shed a tear over a pretty vintage dress on etsy that had a 23" waist) Also since it's a neutral (well, a combination of neutrals - grey and cream) it can be remixed in a bunch of different combinations.

Which leads me to my next fun surprise -- I'm going to have 5 outfit posts next week with 5 different ways to wear the dress. Of course I think it's lovely on its own with a pair of pink flats, but this little number can also be styled in so many different ways! One of my favorite things about it is that it has unique details (like the collar and matching belt) that make it work without any added accessories, but they're subtle enough that you can add on layers and punches of color without it being too much :)





You can check out the dress (and the other pretty goodies Ever + Mi Crush has to offer!) over here! They also have Dear Creatures dresses on sale for only $30. Just saying ;) 

designing woman

This is the design that I submitted (see the finished product in my post here!)

I've sewn some of my own dresses before, but my skills pretty much limit my options to plain cotton dresses. So I really wanted to design something that I knew I couldn't make at home. I *definitely* couldn't make this at home, lol.



I also submitted an inspiration board as well. I found products that were the same colors I had in mind -- I was worried the warm grey would be tough to pin down but Dahlia found the absolute perfect shade of grey for the lining of the dress! The sleeve inspiration is from All This Happiness (I die from envy everytime that blouse pops up in an outfit post! gah!) I included some examples of swooshy skirts (two from ASOS, one from Fancy Fine) to illustrate the fullness I was going for and some examples of delicate vintage frocks that have been hanging out in my etsy favorites forever, even though they're too tiny for me. That's the sort of feel I was going for with this design and I think the finished product definitely fits in with their daintiness :)

And then of course, Hypatia. She passed away shortly before I won the contest, and I was having a hard time concentrating on anything at all. Around that time my dad had suggested (since I was having similar mental blocks with drawing and painting) that I use her as inspiration, and then not only would I be able to work but I'd be creating things that would always remind me of her. I took his advice for the dress, too, and I'm so glad I did. I think it really captures her beautiful colors and her sweet, fragile beauty.

the prettiest dress ever

Ok, I might be a little bit biased because... I designed it :)

Before I get into gushing about the dress, though, I just want to thank everyone who commented on my post Tuesday. I was almost crying, I was so touched by how sweet and encouraging all of your comments were! I might actually share some of them in a post over the weekend, because they were just so inspiring and reassuring. Thank you ♥



Earlier this year I won a contest where the grand prize was getting to design my own Dahlia dress!  After much (too much) thought, I ended up designing a dainty cream colored dress with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar, matching belt and sheer bell sleeves. I wanted to post the finished product on its own, so I'll share my design and inspiration photos later tonight :)

The dress came out even better than I imagined. The pictures seriously don't do it justice. It's pretty much my ideal dress. I thought -- if I was perusing the vintage listings on etsy and could find the perfect 60's dress in my size, what would it look like? This silhouette, the sheer overlay, the little bell sleeves, these are all elements that I look for when I'm shopping for vintage. The colors were inspired by Hypatia. Her mix of cream and grey fur was just the prettiest combination. And then of course, there had to be scallops.





Now the tricky part... I originally thought this was going to be available for sale, then when they asked for my measurements to make my dress I realized it probably wasn't. When it came in the mail I kind of freaked out thinking "OMG this is SO pretty, how could I wear it in an outfit post and dangle this carrot in front of my readers when they can't buy it themselves?!" (I obviously have a very high opinion of the dress. haha)

So I emailed them just to double-check. They said they'd be more than happy to do a limited run of the dress, but only if I had enough readers saying they'd commit to buying it first. I just felt like that would be putting way too much pressure on you guys so I decided not to offer it for sale. I think if it was available on their website it would sell well (unless I'm blinded by bias since I designed it and it's actually hideous) but putting the burden on you to buy it is something I couldn't do. I'm really sorry if you wanted one, but I hope you understand. Heck, I actually would like to buy a second one for myself as a back-up so I'm losing out a little on this decision too lol :)

I'm ever-so-slightly heartbroken over the situation, but it's my own fault for not comprehending the idea that this was a one-of-a-kind dress from the get-go. And looking at it from that perspective -- that I have a really pretty one-off dress that I designed (and that's inspired by my beloved Hypatia, no less) is something incredibly special. I'm definitely going to cherish this dress forever... I'm even a little scared to wear it because I just want to frame it or something so it'll last forever :)

dress - designed by me, c/o dahlia | shoes - vintage

look what I made #7: apple picking dress!

I bought this fabric at JoAnn's last month intending to make it into a dress before my family's annual apple picking day. And then I completely forgot about it until literally the day before we went. So I did what any normal human being would do... I stayed up until 2am making the dress. Naturally.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, though, considering how quickly I put it together. I used a new pattern for the bodice (this one) and I love it! I've been using one where the front bodice was assembled from three separate pieces, but this one is one single piece with darts. It doesn't break up the pattern as much, so this is definitely the one I'm going to use for my galaxy-print dress, which is next on my sewing to-do-list! :D

Dress- handmade! | Sunglasses - uo | Shoes - urbanog | Cardigan - old navy

look what I made #6: navy sweetheart dress

This is by far my favorite dress I've made! It's the first time that I used lining, the first time I sewed a back zipper and the first time I used facing, so it was a challenge but I love how it came out.

I used the bodice from New Look 6567 (thanks to Casey for finding it!) and the skirt from New Look 6020 and then I added little bows at the neckline for some detail. I ordered the pattern online and didn't want to wait for it to come in the mail so I chose the PDF Printable version. Big mistake. Has anyone done one of these before? It prints like 100+ pages that you have to assemble into one giant pattern. It took me about three hours to assemble it and all the while I was cursing myself for not having the patience to just order it through the mail. I probably used up two rolls of tape putting the thing together, too. Oh well! Live and learn :)

Dress - handmade! | Shoes - modcloth | Belt - forever 21 | Necklace - c/o modcloth

look what I (sort of) made #5: bridesmaid gown restyle

Last month I found a vintage bridesmaid gown for $25. It had a high neckline, banded sleeves and the most noisy, stiff taffeta lining I've ever seen. But it also had an embroidered bodice to die for! So I got it and hoped my sewing skills were good enough to turn it into something lovely and more casual.

Last night I put my talents to the test. I took off the collar and created a new neckline with binding tape. I took off the banding on the sleeves and shortened them to just under the scalloped crochet detail for a fluttery effect. I cut out the old taffeta lining, sewed in a new white cotton one and hemmed the sheer overlay. And by golly, it worked!

I am SO happy with how this came out!! I didn't even want to go to sleep last night because it meant having to change out of my new favorite dress into pajamas ;D

Dress - vintage (from Love Saves the Day) | Shoes - ebay | Belt - vintage

look what I made #4: unicorn dress!

dress - handmade by me! :D
belt - from another dress
collar - romwe
shoes - c/o bait

I saw this sheet on etsy last week, and I immediately thought, "I need to make this into a dress!!! Now!!" I actually sewed it up the day that the fabric arrived in the mail, I was so anxious and excited! :D I love how it came out, and I have enough material leftover to make some pillows too!

I used the New Look pattern 6020 for the bodice, and then I just gathered a bunch of fabric for the skirt. I'm still getting the hang of sizing (you wouldn't want to see how big it is without the belt, lol!) but I'm learning as I go along :)

ps. Do you spot Hubble in the photo above? Cat photobomb!

look what I made #3!

dress - handmade by me!!!

belt - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

hair bow - hive & honey

My first attempt at sewing a dress with sleeves!! :) It's not quite perfect, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! The armholes go wayyyy too low for me, if I so much as raise my arm 1/2" the whole dress comes up with it, lol! Also, I still haven't nailed the science of sizing yet so I really need the belt to cinch the waist.

Last night I decided to tackle adjusting the pattern to fit better. I'm such a novice, I really didn't think it would work at all. I'm just barely getting the hang of sewing a store-bought pattern, so adjusting one to fit me is a bit of a stretch! But I took in the waist on the pattern and brought the armhole up closer to my actual arm... then I just dove right in and sewed it. And it actually worked! The new dress I made fits (almost) like a glove... still a bit too big in the waist, but it's a step in the right direction. I'll take pictures today and probably post them for my PFF post since the dress is kinda fancy looking ;D

ps. sorry about the insane amount of light coming in from my window.. the sun was like that all day yesterday, it was crazy!! :)

look what I made #2!

dress - handmade!!!

belt - modcloth

shoes - vintage

hair bow - hive & honey

First, sorry for the pitiful lighting again... it was super rainy yesterday, but I really couldn't wait for the sun to come out to take pictures of my new dress!! :D

I made this one using the New Look pattern#6020 but only for the bodice. I just did the skirt the same way I did the other one (just a really big rectangle with pleats) instead of following the New Look skirt pattern. The fabric is from JoAnn's (isn't it pretty?! I love grey and yellow!) and I made up the collar pattern myself! I just traced the neck & back openings and sketched out a shape for the collar I wanted. I can't believe it actually worked! :D

I liked this pattern A LOT better than the BurdaStyle one. The instructions were much more clear, and it was even easy to install a zipper! I still had trouble with the sizing and had to take it in a lot once it was assembled, but otherwise everything went smoothly. I want to keep practicing now until I really get the hang of it. I'm so excited about saving money by making my own dresses, and also I'm looking forward to trying to make my own modified versions of some dresses I've seen online that wouldn't fit me (like those xxxxxs vintage dresses on etsy lol!)

look what I made!!!

dress - handmade (did she say handmade??? YES SHE DID!!)

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

Guess who made her own dress this weekend??! AHH! That's right, the girl who one year ago could barely sew a basic pillow has now made a dress. And it actually. looks. like. a. dress. And I wore it out for a whole day, and it did not fall apart!!! Granted, I had trouble figuring out how to size it correctly so the waist is about 3 sizes too big (hence the matching sash) but otherwise I don't think I did bad for my first try!

And wait, it gets better. I made ANOTHER dress yesterday (this time, it fits) and it has a sailor collar (that I made from a pattern that I whipped up myself!) and a little matching bow. I seriously cannot wait to take pictures to show you guys, I'm just so excited!

Last year I was *this* close to selling my sewing machine because I was so sure I was incapable of sewing. And honestly, I probably would have sold it if I didn't have so much encouragement and help from Casey! She was the recipient of way too many urgent tweets about bias tape and zippers, and I'm so incredibly grateful that she patiently (and enthusiastically!) explained everything to me. She got me from ineptitude at sewing a straight line to making a dress from scratch! Thank you Casey!!!! :)