UFrOcktober take 1

Do you like what I’ve done there? I’d been thinking of having a month to tackle some UFOs, and as most of mine seem to be dresses Frocktober seemed to be the perfect month. UFrOcktober? Geddit? (I’ve been waiting an awful long time to get that into writing and I have always liked to labour a pun beyond its natural limits.) Of course I then got side-tracked by a coat I felt the need to finish, but now I am dedicated, DEDICATED I tell you, to getting a few of those UFOs out of the pile of shame and into my wardrobe. First up:

Welcome to the jungle. I bet you can’t even see me there, can you? That is because I am wearing an Elisalex made from Rainforest camo fabric  Birds in Paradise fabric.

How long does a project need to go unfinished before it can be considered a UFO? I admit that I was working on this last month, before casting it aside to make my mac, so it feels more of a temporarily postponed object than unfinished…

There I am! And though I might look as if I releasing a wedgie whilst waiting for a bus, I’ll have you know I have watched plenty of America’s Next Top Model and what you are looking at there is pure fashion. Other classic poses include:

The Marionette with Strings Cut

The Over-Shoulder Flirt

and what I like to call The Serial Killer

Ah, Tyra Banks and the ever-so creepy Nigel Barker would be proud.

Anyway, you’re here about the dress, right? As I said, it is an Elisalex. Now I might have mentioned before my love for this particular number from Roisin, AKA Dolly Clackett. And I tell you, had I been able to find that very fabric at the right price I would’ve made a straight up, no changes, not-even-calling-it-a-tribute-because-it-is-an-out-and-out-rip-off copy of that one. But instead I just became obsessed with finding fabric with birds on. Any fabric with birds on. But I found that on the whole bird print fabric does not fit in with my budget (regular readers will know that I am cheap thrifty when it comes to fabric purchases), so I searched for a while. And then for my birthday aways back in Maytime my good pal Andrea gave me a most generous gift certificate for the Fabric Godmother and after much internal debate (like 2 months of internal debate) I bought myself 3 metres of this subtle number.

Anyhow, I made it just like my last one, pretty much as per the instructions in a size 16. I put in an invisible zip instead of the floor to ceiling one recommended by the pattern, shortened it by, I dunno, about a yard, I think (really… how tall are those BHL girls??) and chopped a few inches off the sleeves to make them 3/4 instead of full length. I wish I had spent a bit more time thinking about pattern matching, but whaddayagonnado? I can live with it.

I have to say that working with not-cheap fabric was a dream. It behaved beautifully and did not fray or slip or pull off grain or anything like that. And as the fear of royally cocking up recedes with practice I might start to invest a bit more in my raw materials…

So, thanks to Andrea for the gift certificate to buy the fabric, and to Sue and Katy* for the gift certificate to buy the pattern and to the wicked stepdaughter for taking the photos.

But it has been a while since I have asked the question. So, is it fitting that a lady of a certain age should be cavorting around town in a dress covered with parrots? I confess it is a louder print than I usually choose, and am not sure I’ll work up the nerve to wear it in public. Reassurance or revulsion both welcomed in the comments. 😉

* I had also meant to thank Sue and Katy in the Oscar acceptance for my Robson, as they bought me that pattern for my birthday and I would never have been brave enough to buy it for myself; so thanks, girls for giving me that push!