Spring sewing – Amy Butler Liverpool dress

Spring has sprung in Melbourne in the last week, so I had earmarked this weekend for some Spring dress making. Well, in true Melbourne style today was grey and rainy and not at all Spring like – all the better for sewing though. It was still a mild morning so we went for an early walk and a yummy brekkie at this local cafe and I was still home by 9.30 to start sewing!

I pulled out the Amy Butler Liverpool dress pattern and some Oliver + S City Weekend fabric I had purchased on sale.

I found the pattern instructions really interesting as this is the first Amy Butler pattern I’ve tried. There’s loads of detail and step by step instructions for less experienced dress makers. My teenage years of making something on Saturday to wear Saturday night (and sometimes going out sewn into it because I couldn’t be bothered with fastenings – sound familiar anyone???) make me an impatient dress maker. I did take some shortcuts – machine hems and deliberate gathers in my sleeves because I can’t be bothered with the whole setting in thing.

I popped down to Lincraft this morning for some thread, interfacing and buttons. I was stunned that I managed to find some great matching buttons and didn’t have to buy the kit to self cover some. It didn’t look like the self covered button kits have changed in the last 20 odd years – cheap and nasty things they are! I did have a few nostalgic moments in store though – my first ever job was in Lincraft for 3 hours on a Saturday morning. That was back in the days when it was a “proper” fabric store and not what it is now. I LOVED that job – it was a dream come try to work there – even if it was only 4 hours a week! My other moment was remembering making goodness knows how many self covered buttons from emerald green raw dupion silk for one of my school formal dresses…hmmm…do I still have that dress somewhere???

So…self indulgent trip down memory lane over…the point of this was to say how the notions for a dress can cost about as much as the fabric! Over $16 for the buttons!!!

I think I like the dress; like anything I make I’ll have to make myself just put it on and go out without thinking too much about how home made it might look. I had this issue with my Lisette Passport dress, but I wore it out loads on hol’s in Hawaii. I think in this fabric it looks quite retro; a bit house coat-ish. I did ask Mr Tortoise if I looked like Alice from the Brady Bunch and while he said “not really” his laughter did have recognition in it 🙂

Overall though, pretty happy…now I’m just waiting for those nice red patent sandals to come into the stores…