Last month I was invited to be involved in 30 Days Of Sewing With Art Gallery Fabrics – to say I was excited is an understatement! Throughout the month of September, they will be sharing beautiful projects that have been made with their beautiful range of fabrics.
I chose to make the Bonnell dress from DixieDIY: a gathered skirt dress with triangular cut outs on the bodice. I had a really hard time choosing fabrics because all the new collections are just gorgeous! The one that jumped out at me the most was the Anna Elise collection by Bari.J. The look book for this collection is just adorable! After narrowing it down to this collection, I chose the Wind Melody Carmin for the main fabric and the Rythmic Hatch Vivid for the dress lining – both cotton.
It was a hard decision choosing because I am also IN LOVE with these cottons too: Encolureful and Boho, Tribal Study Jewel & Bunny Binkies Funk. How sweet are they?! Definitely choices for future projects! Take a look at the collection and tell me which prints you love. 🙂
Having never sewn with AGF, I knew that I wanted to get the fit of the dress perfect before cutting into my fabrics. If you read my blogs or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, then you will know that many Bonnell dresses have been made over the last couple of weeks. 3 wearable muslins to be exact, which of course will be blogged about soon!
Once I was completely happy with the fit of the dress, I started my AGF make.
Checked twice & cut once.
Checked again before starting to sew…just to make sure!
This was a dream to sew with and it was a make that made me smile through the whole process. The cotton was soft and glided through the machine with ease. Even from the inside, it looked so pretty.
I’m not sure if anyone else can relate to this…but I love the feeling you get when you turn a bodice the right way round to see how well the lining looks with the main fabric. *swoon!*
I wore the dress whilst out on a walk with Maisy puppy; it was incredibly soft and incredibly comfortable – fitting perfectly in all the right places. I love how the colour of the dress looks different depending on the light. I almost made the waist band in the lining fabric to add a bit of contrast but then decided to stick to my original plans – do you think a contrast waistband would look ok?
Here it is anyway! Hope you like it 🙂 I do! I ❤ it!
Wondering where you can get hold of Art Gallery Fabrics? They have a fab new app out (for android & iOS) where you can peruse the fabric collections & find your local supplier.
This blog post was sponsored by Art Gallery Fabrics.
threads + bobbins 
That’s a great dress!! You look beautiful in it!!
Gorgeous! I love this pattern, those triangle cutouts are so cool. Lovely fabric choices too 🙂
so cute!
So cute! I also was contacted by them… they have great fabric!
Beautiful! I’ve just been over to have a look at their fabrics – what a great range!
They are so nice aren’t they?! I could buy them all :-0
Lucky you! What a fab choice of designs. You chose really well and love the contrast lining, really elevates the whole dress. Looks great on too, and totally with you on the bodice/lining reveal 🙂
Thank you – it was great to work with them & it also gave me a push to start fitting patterns + altering if need be! 🙂
Looking lovely! I think you were write to not have the contrasting hem, but I bet this dress might look good with the skirt a different colour 😃
Yes I thought that too – I think I’m going to try the bodice without the cutouts too now that I’ve got the fit right 😀
Very pretty! The cut-outs are cute, and excellent choice of fabric and liner combination. Definitely a winner. (Little Maisy is always the perfect accessory)
She is isn’t she?! She loves posing but only stays still still for a few seconds – that’s why my arms are often off in different directions!
You picked a great pattern. The cut-outs are very ‘in’ right now as I see them on a lot of RTW. Very pretty.
Yes I’ve also seen them quite a lot – I wouldn’t be able to get away with showing my tummy through some of the cut outs though…I’m glad these are in just the right place 😀
Love this. The fabrics are gorgeous and your dress looks great x
Thank you – the fabrics are a dream to sew with too!
Your dress is very pretty. It also looks comfortable.
Thank you! It is the comfiest dress I have made up to now – I’m even thinking about making another but omitting the cut outs 🙂
I’ve loved watching and reading about your progress with these dresses, I’m very impressed with how you worked out which bits needed altering in order to gain a perfect fit. They have all turned out beautifully but each is different enough for you to wear them consecutively too. And I agree, Art Gallery fabrics and their new collection are just gorgeous.
Thank you! I’m hoping to get a post out next week with all the alteration details in…just need to take the pics 🙂
This is beautiful, I love the combination of the main and contrast fabrics you used ☺️