Dresses Events and day trips

Daisy Chains and Ribbon Ties

Ooh this is so exciting! I’m able to show you the finished dress from the John Lewis sewing bee that I talked about in my last post.

So let’s recap, on the day I picked a beautiful fabric called “Daisy Chain” which has yellow, white and blue daisies and white tulips in garlands.

almond rock john lewis daisy chain

And this AKO for Vogue pattern which has cuckoo cover art but very nice line drawings. I don’t understand why this woman looks so angry!? Maybe she doesn’t like that loopy hair do? I like her shoes though, mega cute.

almond rock john lewis daisy chain V1102

Anyway! The weirdness about this dress is that it has a lined bodice but also has pattern pieces for interfacing facings. Now I would never bother to interface along the neckline of my lining only. I’d either use a facing or a lining. Not both!

Lisa, Freia, Charlie and I all sort of shook our heads over this. I made an executive decision to turn the interfacing pieces into proper facings and not line my bodice.

So here it is!

almond rock john lewis daisy chain

Can you believe I had coordinating yellow sandals?

Not sure where the sunshine has gone!

2014-06-05 19.00a

Come on then, let’s have a look at the back!

almond rock john lewis daisy chain V1102

I used a lovely butter coloured zip with a cute pull tab, and turquoise satin ribbon bow. Not seen is my satin butter yellow bias that I used to hem this epic circle skirt! By the way I took quite a bit off the length of the skirt as I’m only 5ft 5 and it was entering midi-dress territory.

I switched out the fabric bow for a few reasons: 1) the original bow was hemmed (not fully lined for some odd reason), 2) it was humongous, 3) this ribbon perfectly matched the turquoise in the flowers!

On a separate note, it’s very odd to see a photo of your exposed back. I love how it dips though.

almond rock john lewis daisy chain V1102

I think for modesty’s sake I’ll generally be wearing this beauty with a cardigan. But it’ll be great fun when I slip it off and give everyone a surprise with the bow.

almond rock john lewis daisy chain V1102

almond rock john lewis daisy chain V1102

I’m so thankful for the chance to make this pretty little number. I don’t want to take it off!!

(44) Comments

  1. Hehe, I just uploaded my post and then saw that you’re already showing off yours! I love it! It turned out great. The satin bow is such a clever idea. I had some serious troubles with mine! Lining the bow made it quite heavy and hard to tie. In the end I decided to fold it and hand stitch it in place so that it looks tyed. The matching sandals are lovely!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks! I love yours too, such a great colour on you. The satin bow gets a little ticklish when the wind blows but is so pretty

  2. Amy that’s lovely, the back is such a pretty shape, much like a goblet, a bowl, a wine glass!!! Ace fabric and good call on the ribbon

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks so much!

  3. So lovely! All this fabric is great. I like the cheeky back!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! The cheeky back is rather outside of my comfort zone but I love it

  4. Gorgeous fabric and a truly beautiful dress! Love the back!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks so much! I love this fabric so so much

  5. Cute! I think the reason they have both is so you get the lining in case your fabric needs it, but the facing is there so you don’t get any flashes of your lining to the outside world, in case you care about that.

    1. almondrock says:

      Aah no you see that would make sense but it wasn’t that. It was literally just a pattern piece to cut sew in interfacing, not any fabric. SOOOO ODD. hehehe.

  6. Beautiful, and the back is lovely.

    1. almondrock says:

      Aaahhh thank you!!

  7. Ack, you look pretty as a picture Amy! I’ve long admired this pattern for its simple elegance and sexy back detail…but a lady of my *ahem* proportions just cannpt get away with not wearing a bra :o(

    1. almondrock says:

      Ahhh. Maybe you would prefer the project runway dress I have which has a deep v back with stripes running across it. One of them cleverly hides your bra strap!

  8. This is so cute!!! The back is so unusual! I used to hate facings, but lately I’ve been much more into them. They are great when you’re using fabric that’s not super stable. Sometimes when you line to the edge, your neckline can get kind of messy over time, so when I want the stability of a facing but the finish of a lining, I don’t mind doing both. Maybe that’s what Vogue was thinking?

    1. almondrock says:

      I agree. It’s funny how you can totally switch to preferring one over the other, I think the same applies to zip styles, you can suddenly start preferring one. I’m on a major invisible zipper kick lately

  9. This is so pretty. I love the low back and ribbon!

    1. almondrock says:

      Ahhh thank you!!

  10. Wow, the back! I love it. The blue stain ribbon is lovely. The dress really suits you and I hope we get some good weather for you to show off the ribbon.

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! Fingers crossed for a lovely summer for all our sakes

  11. I LOVE IT!!

    The back is awesome and looks very, very chic! Fingers crossed for a hot summer so you can wear this loads…

    1. almondrock says:

      Hehe thank you! I hope for a lovely summer either way! Hope you (and the cats) are enjoying your new garden

  12. This is soooo cute! I’ve made this dress a few times, but I usually just leave out the bow as it’s too bulky – great idea with the ribbon though. I love your choice of fabric!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! High fives for exposed backs!

  13. Aw, this is so pretty! I actually want to buy this pattern now I’ve seen it on you. Although the one woman on the envelope has a right face on her, doesn’t she?

  14. This is so beautiful! The colours look amazing on you and the fit looks perfect! I love that unexpected back with the pop of turquoise too. I can see this taking you from office to cocktails so easily!

    1. almondrock says:

      Ooh that’s a good idea. Cardigan on during the day, exposed back for post work drinks!

  15. Wow, brilliant! That back is such an interesting surprise detail 🙂

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! It’s cheeky 😉

  16. Cute! I have this pattern in my stash, it’s nice to see it sewn up. Do you think the straps would stay up without the bow? I was thinking about leaving that off when I try mine…

    1. almondrock says:

      Yes! I tried it on without the bow and it mostly stayed up without problem. Just if you were say carrying something, they might slip off

  17. It’s so pretty! It’s the kind of dress that I love in theory, but I’m not quite sure I’m brave enough for the low back. Maybe I should give it a try to see!

    1. almondrock says:

      Maybe give it a try. I would never have tried it if JL hadn’t pushed me outside my comfort zone

  18. Lovely dress! And I like the fact that you used a satin ribbon and are now able to wear a cardigan over it (I am always cold, so I think that’s important ;)).

    1. almondrock says:

      Meeee tooooo! My boyfriend is always warm as well which is awkward. Plus I love cardigans

  19. Gorgeous! I love the shape of the back and the ribbon.

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks so much!

  20. Such a sweet dress! The back is a neat suprise!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! Gotta love a good surprise element 😉

  21. Amy this turned out amazing! I love your decision to replace the bow with a ribbon and that’s such a perfect colour to bring out in the fabric. It’s such a ‘you’ print too! It was so fun sewing with you for a day!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks so much! Was great fun hanging out and sewing with you too 🙂

  22. Another winner from you! May we also share this on our Facebook page?

    1. almondrock says:

      Sure thing! Thanks so much!

  23. […] far less wearable than it should be. Plus I like the backless option. I love Almond Rock’s version with a ribbon, but I figured I can just add a bow or ribbon on mine at a later date. I would say removing the […]

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