Oh how I love this dress....the bows, flowing skirts, deep v's...it just screams summer... and then add the simplest of patterns, does it get better?!

The center front which is cut on the fold.

The side front, cut twice.

The back half, which comes in two pieces and needs to be joined before cutting.

and the bodice, each piece cut twice again. The long strip is the shoulder detail.

The only down side to this pattern is the immense amount of fabric it needs, I used a standard 55" wide cotton voile and needed 5.25 yards in total, with just little scraps left over.

I would suggest for anyone interested, lay out the skirt pieces first and then slot the bodice in between, it does reduce fabric usage by about a yard, you just have to be a little creative, although I cut with my usual two inch seams and just managed it, reducing to a inch where necessary.

I am all cut out, the softest of silk organza is thread basted on to the cotton and I am ready to start construction today.

A close up of the pattern, its such a delicate pretty fabric.

It has a large repeat that is actually transferred on to the fabric and slightly raised. I bought this a few years ago in Mood for maybe $10 a yard and have waited to find a pattern that would do it justice. I have a white crepe de chine for the lining that should make the pattern pop even more.

I could not resist pinning it outside after taking pics of my jacket, it was windy and its pretty shapeless but it feels like summer is coming!

Most of the week was spent making my French jackets workable....I swear I am taking a break from both talking about them and working on them!

I took the bulk of them apart, something was off and it was easier to see what the problem was re-constructing them.....I ended up taking big chunks of the back off...

and I am finally completely happy with the blue one, I have to transfer the changes to the red one ...its so hard to take a decent picture of such a dark fabric, so I hauled my dress form outside.

This is the side, with a heavy silk satin bias trim, which I made and organza selvedge I had kept from a dress made years ago.

The back wings, the bottom panel will curve once the sides are tacked down and it will also have trim.

With a tiny piece of beaded trim tacked to the corner.

I am keeping the front of the jacket in a more traditional style, but with the hem subtly arcing up to the wings at the back for visual detail.

The kids have spring break coming up soon, so will put this away until then , its always to hard to get any length of time sewing with all the running around with them home, so this will be a perfect project.

Amazing how fast the week flies with almost nothing to show for it!

Audio books this week: Silver linings My eldest daughter raved about this book, and the movie has had so much buzz, I was really looking forward to it......I just did not get it. Honestly found the whole thing a little far fetched.....especially the main female character...I don't know maybe the movie is better? My daughter and I had a lot of discussions about it and she defended it well but it just came across more as a daytime soap?!

However did enjoy Macbeth again this week read by the incredible Alan Cummings, as I am seeing it live this week in NYC. So incredibly excited. We got great tickets as I booked the day it was announced and I cannot wait, the reviews from Scotland last year left me so jealous.... its not for everyone I know but I would see a Met Opera at least once a week if it was possible......so this is right up there!!!

I finally finished In Between Days, if ever there was a book written about choices this is it. Just such a wonderful thoughtfully written novel. Highly recommend.

Of course Mad Men is taking over the spare time I do have.....I'm sure most people know about this site but can I just say without it most of the show would be lost on me, Matthew Weiner is tricky!

Also Inna posted some great pictures on her blog from our week in Baltimore.....her jacket is stunning and so beautifully finished... and Devra wrote a great series of her week with the additional bonus of Indy the cat pictures, a very handsome man!

I am off to finish my dress, leaving the doors open while I sew as today is almost 60, which is fairly tropical after our winter! Wishing you all a lovely week, back on Monday.

Leisa.