LIBERTY OF LONDON

Being a London girl I felt that I really couldn't go another week without mentioning that great bastion of British style - Liberty of London

Strolling past last week I felt an irresistible urge to enter and was pretty glad I did because they had a sale on and this was my opportunity to indulge myself with a piece of their Liberty print Tana Lawn fabric. It's lovely stuff, it really is, but it's not cheap! Their regular price is £19.95 per metre (approx. US$ 33.00) - that's a lot for some cotton isn't it? So I was pretty pleased to get a discount. There's a lot to choose from - if you'd like to take a look at their range, here is the link to Liberty's Fabric Department.

After some indecision I went for this one, called Valerie's Garden

Liberty prints have always been popular but, as I'm sure you're aware, in the last couple of years they've been achieving iconic fashion status . Both Gap and Nike have included Liberty prints in their ranges and several designers have used them in their recent collections, including Marc Jacobs -

Now, I'm a big admirer of Mr Jacobs but unfortunately, at my age, I don't think the above dress would be quite right for me! So what am I going to do with my prize piece of fabric? I thought I would go down the more traditional route and make a classic shirt. I did make a shirt last year but, to be honest it was fairly hideous and didn't fit me right so I'm still searching for my TNT classic shirt pattern and I need to be sure the muslin is pretty perfect before I cut into my Liberty print. I'm thinking that I might try this pattern, no. 105, from last month's Burda Magazine
I'm looking for something not too fitted but not baggy and I like the yoke, the shape of the collar and the curved hem of this style. I'm hoping this might be the one!

So, what do you think about Liberty print fabric - do you love it or hate it? Is it too much 'old-fashioned English country garden' or do you see the iconic style possibilities? Can you get it where you live and, if so, is it expensive? I'd love to know ........

Vogue 1086 - TRACY REESE DESIGNED DRESS

I loved this dress as soon as I saw the picture in the Vogue patterns magazine. I've visited Tracy Reese's lovely boutique, in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, several times and am the happy owner of a really nice skirt and a cardigan bought in there. So I was very attracted by the idea that I could make a Tracy Reese dress for myself - one that would actually be tailor-made to fit me.

On a styling note, I'm wearing it here with a really pretty pair of pink Marc Jacobs shoes that I bought many years ago - his shoes never seem to date!



This pattern is graded "Average" difficulty- so, for me, it was quite an ambitious project - my previous dresses have been made from "Easy" patterns and this one had so many different pieces. But, no pain, no gain and, you know what, once I had got the muslin fitted, it really wasn't too anxious making.

As is so often the case with me, it was the fitting that took up so much time. I had to make two muslins of the bodice - I started by cutting a straight size 12 but the shoulders and neckline were so loose-fitting that I decided to re-cut the bodice pieces to a size 10, grading up to a size 12 from under the armholes down to the midriff.

In the end I still had to take a couple of inches out of the centre front seam to stop the neckline gaping and to prevent it from looking too blousy.

I bought the fabric from http://www.chrysalisfabrics.co.uk/ - it's a linen/viscose mix and, although it's a little heavier than the fabrics recommended for this pattern, I chose it because it hangs really nicely but has enough body of its own so that I didn't have to line it. Added bonus is that it goes in the washing machine. Because the fabric wasn't as lightweight as the recommended fabrics I decided not to follow the pattern instructions to use french seams - I didn't want to add any extra bulk or stiffness - instead I used regular seams finished with my serger.


In the end I'm really pleased with this dress and it's one of those happy garments that you can wear on a summer day but also looks good as evening wear. I've worn it to a couple of parties already and it came on a trip to New York with me and was worn out to dinner three times (I think our hotel reception staff and doorman must have thought that this was the only dress I own!).