Meadow print sundress & de-stashing plans

I interrupt my wedding dress posts to bring you an "ordinary" make.

As usually happens, my newest make has become my favourite item of clothing. I'm loving wearing it!

The Meadow dress: B4443

This summer I have come to realise that until now I had never made a true sundress, and the few shop-bought ones I've had for years are getting pretty worn out. I decided it was time to change that, as well as use some fabric that has been lying dormant for, erm, the past year. And lovely fabric it is too! It's Dewy Meadow, from the Arcadia collection by Cloud9. I love the quality of it, not to mention the gorgeous print.

I made this dress in spits and spurts over a week where I had some time on my hands, but no spare cash. What I DID have of course was fabric and my sewing machine, so I spent some happy hours making this dress.

Originally it was supposed to be a bit of a copy of those loverly Bernie Dexter sundresses (I have multiple versions pinned on my Sewing Inspiration board), with thin tie-straps. Perhaps I didn't make my straps thin enough, but when I pinned my tie straps onto the bodice, and tied them up, it gave the dress more than a hint of the childish about it. And it would be a nightmare to wear under a cardigan. Since, you know, this is Britain, I thought it would be silly to make a sundress that looks weird with a cardigan over it. So I switched the straps to ordinary straight ones, and made sure they were over where my bra straps landed.

Straps ALMOST properly hidden. Darn straps.

The pattern I used is my beloved and much used B4443. I love a princess-seamed bodice, and the half circle skirt is perfect for a sundress.

I machined a tiny hem on this after overlocking the raw edge, as I liked the longer length, and on a quick, casual sundress I'm really not fussed about a "proper" hem (I usually like a nice hand sewn hem).

Here's a snap of it's first outing, about a month ago when my friend Emma came to London to visit. Whenever she's down we walk around the Tate Modern, eat cake, and have deep life talks that feel a bit like therapy. My dress enjoyed it's little jaunt that day, and has enjoyed many jaunts since.

I even had enough fabric left over to whip up two cushion covers for the living room! I love the happy print. If I'm sat on the sofa wearing my Meadow Dress though I do blend into my surroundings a little bit!

Well, folks, I must be off. I'm having a MAJOR declutter at the moment, which is hard for me, a self-confessed hoarder. But I've had enough of being hemmed in by STUFF. I need to reclaim some space. So far I have purged clothes, shoes, paper crafting supplies, even books! Next on my list is to tackle my fabric stash. My problem is I cannot bear to get rid of useful fabric. I have loads of scraps saved to make a quilt, and lots in the "refashion" pile that I fear I will never get around to. I have resolved to:
1. Be ruthless and get rid of anything I think will just languish there for eons
2. Make things with my stashed fabrics before I buy ANY MORE
3. When it comes to scraps: use it or lose it. MAKE that quilt, Ree, don't just plan to. Make bibs or kid's clothes from bigger scraps. Make more cushion covers if need be.
4. Sell, donate or give away anything I won't use. I need the space more than I need redundant fabric!

Wish me luck!

**** I'll be back tomorrow with the next part of my "Making My Wedding Dress" series ****