Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…oh deer!
The WSBN are great at scheming!
Our most recent collaborative idea was to sew a garment from one pattern brand. Votes were cast and Deer & Doe won…and then the four of us who participated all managed to sew the same pattern, the Bleuet dress!
We have graduated from Twinsies to Quadruplets!
So where do four sewists go for photographs when they are all wearing the same dress by a pattern company called Deer & Doe?
Duh, they go to Staglands of course, because with a name like that there MUST some deer there, right?
RIGHT!
But first we ate, because not only are we excellent at scheming and sewing (and sewing scheming) we are also good at eating!
So we picnicked:
You may notice we also included significant others, both large and small, for this outing.
Wellington put on a beautiful day so after our picnic we wandered, looking at the animals, chatting and photographing as we went.
The Bleuet Quadruplets:
Apart from the odd sneak peek this was the first time I’d seen all the dresses complete and together. I really love that we each put our personal style twist to it and while it’s clear we all used the same pattern we all ended up with a unique dress.
Sewing is awesome, yes it is!
Near one of the picnic areas a lady complimented our dresses and was brave enough to ask, “Why are you all wearing the same dress?” so I quickly explained that we were part of a sewing group and that this particular dress was from a pattern company called Deer & Doe so we were hoping to have photos with deer (we hadn’t actually seen any deer at that point).
She seemed very impressed and that was when I realised we are not normal but it made me happy in a weird sort of way
I saw this check print while on a sneaky fabric shopping mission with Nikki. She picked it up first and I was going to get some cut from it after her but there wasn’t enough left on the bolt. I figured it wasn’t meant to be, then Enabler Nikki texted me one weekend not long after to say she’d seen another bolt of it. I couldn’t get to the shop but put out a cry for help on the WSBN Facebook page and MaryLousie came to my rescue – sewing friends are the best!
I channelled my inner Ladybird and cut the side panels on the bias, then I chopped off the self button placket and cut that on the bias too.
You may have noticed I have an extra panel on the back of my dress, just below the collar.
This is, err…a bonus design feature.
Ok, maybe I had a little boo boo.
While trying this dress on I got my arm stuck one of the arm holes and heard a terrible ripping sound! At first I couldn’t find any damage so I assumed it was just some basting stitches ripping out. I carried on sewing…and then I saw it!
NooOOoooOOOoooo!
I was really mad at myself for about 30 seconds. Then I sat down at my machine and zig zagged the rip together. After staring at it a little longer I realised I had to patch it. I am sure I’ve seen patches on the back of shirts so I drew a semi-circle on the back bodice piece that would cover the rip and cut it on the bias for interest.
I top stitched it in place and it went unnoticed for about half the day until Nikki spotted it
After solving that little problem I needed some stress relief – for the first item ever, and inspired by Kat, I decided to try snap fasteners instead of buttons.
I bought 12 pearl snaps and took out my frustration installing them.
Sewing with a hammer is fun!
Check out this guys antlers, so soft but also mean looking
The pattern:
This was my first Deer & Doe pattern, but I own 5 of them in total. The pattern comes in a cute envelope and is printed on nice sturdy paper – a dream to work with compared to some of the thin tissue I’ve been tracing from lately.
You get two instruction booklets, one in French, one in English and I was a little disappointed to see that they are mostly text with very few diagrams. This did not stop me getting through the project but for someone who has not made a shirt or shirt dress before it could slow them down.
I felt there were a few gaps in the instructions, I couldn’t find any mention of stitching the shoulder seams and no guidance of which side to top stitch your panels. I also felt the collar is constructed in a very strange way so I decided to sew mine in a more traditional way that I have done before because the Deer & Doe instructions wouldn’t work in my head.
I found the sleeve cuffs a bit strange to construct too. After interfacing you fold them in on themselves so that you end up with 4 layers of fabric plus interfacing that you then have to sandwich onto the gathered bottom of the sleeve. It’s not easy and if you are using a thicker fabric I suggest you cut the sleeve cuff in half and attach it a different way.
This pattern cost me NZD$22.00 so I guess I just expected a little bit more love in the instructions. It is labelled an intermediate pattern but I feel that an advanced beginner could tackle this with a bit more guidance, or while consulting a general sewing book.
The draft is good, all my pieces lined up and it sews up quite quickly. The princess seams give you lots of fitting adjustment and I think the bow at the back adds a cute detail. I also I like how it is constructed.
I was a bit worried the puffy sleeves would be cute overload but after basting them on I decided to leave them. NH thought they looked OK plus I wore this dress to work last week and no one laughed at me
Staglands:
I was pleasantly surprised by Staglands. I am Wellingtonian born and bred so I assumed I must have been there at some point in my life but apparently not. It was completely new to me and I really enjoyed myself!
The park is huge and from Wellington CBD it’s a good hour by car through the amazing Akatarawa Valley road. Leave home early because you really do need an entire day to enjoy the whole park.
Anywhere that has baby bunnies roaming around will get a glowing review from me!
THE DEETS:
Pattern - Deer and Doe Bleuet Dress, straight size 42
Fabric – Cotton check from The Fabric Warehouse, Kaiwharawhara, $10/m
Other notions – 12 x pearl snaps
Filed under: Sewing Projects Tagged: Bleuet, Deer & Doe, Deer and Doe, Quadruplets, Staglands, Wellington Sewing Bloggers Network, WSBN
