Yeah! Typepad's back….just in time for #sewdollyclackett dress no. 1: Upcycled Dress in a Day

(previously blogged on my Tumblr Absobloominglutely whilst Typepad was getting DDoS attacked and I couldn't blog here)

Aaaaaaaanyway...

Hello, I'm temporarily blogging here on Tumblr because I can't access my Typepad account to post on my main blog: www.fanbloomingtastic.com. You can still access and read Fanbloomingtastic (well, currently) but I can't log in to Typepad because it's experiencing it's 6th day of DDoS attacks…..so I'm here. When Typepad is finally back up and running I'll transfer this post onto Fanbloomingtastic.

Aaaaaanyway, here's my 1st dress for #sewdollyclackett, a sewalong that's a wonderful celebration of the style, fun and happiness of Roisin Muldoon (also known as Dolly Clackett…or Janet Snakehole etc etc).

If you ever want to be cheered up, check out her blog for her happy smiley face, beautiful happy dresses and a very witty commentary on the makes and her life generally. Did I mention happy? I love following her blog and being inspired by brilliant choice of patterned fabrics. My first isn't very patterned, ok, it's not patterned at all…..but it does use one of Roisin's favorite patterns: Simplicity 2444.

The #sewdollyclackett sewalong has been organised by Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Roisin and Nic….how fab to have hundreds of virtual bridesmaids around the globe making dresses in your style?? If you want to check out the fun prettiness of all the #sewdollyclackett dresses, check out the Flickr group here.

Some clever people watching my instagram on the day I made this dress recognised the fabric….yep, it's previous life was as my Angel of the North dress for the Sew Weekly art challenge in 2012:

However, much as I loved this dress and shrug, it never got to be worn out on the town….so when I woke up on Thursday and decided I'd make a dress in a day, I thought it fitting that this fab fabric got another more fulfilling life. You can check out my instagram to see how the dress progressed during the day, including the usual invaluable help I got from Luca Brasi….guarding pattern pieces from running away by falling asleep on them.

So there you go….and I'll be back tomorrow with my #sewdollyclackett dress no. 2, which I made especially for St. George's Day - April 23rd.

The Facts

Fabric: Upcycled Angel of the North dress, lined with tangerine tango shirting cotton I bought from a thrift store and cunningly stashed in my stash TARDIS over 2 years ago.

Pattern: Simplicity 2444 (bodice), Vogue 2902 (full circle skirt).

Notions: thread only (to facilitate making the dress in a day, I made the bodice wide enough to wiggle into without a zip).

Accessories made: flower crown headband from dollar store flowers, wire and headband $3.50 (£2.08)

Time to complete: started 8.30am, took out an hour for school runs and lunch, finished 5.15pm = 7 hrs 45 mins

First worn: to a Spring dinner party, Thursday 17th April 2014.

Wear again? Absobloominglutely!

Total Cost: $5.49 (£3.26)

The challenge: #sewdollyclackett sewalong

Ps. Roisin's instagram frequently has shoe shots of the dress she's wearing that day (#memadeliving) and her shoes…..so here's mine: