I have to confess: I made this dress in a total rush, starting at 9pm and aiming at wearing it on the following day… and of course, making mistake after mistake. Oh I missed that!
When Eléonore offered me to spend the day at the CSF expo where Deer&Doe had a booth, I was thrilled. But the day before, panick struck: I had nothing to wear! Sure, I have a Bleuet but it was in the wash, I have a Belladone but I didn’t actually make it myself so it would be cheating, I have a Sureau but… whatever, I needed a new dress.
So here I am, with a Belladone I had actually cut the fabric for before leaving for the US this summer. Except I don’t know what went wrong at that time, but I totally messed up when tracing the pattern, and I didn’t realize it when sewing either. Let’s have a look at the following figure:
Let’s say that the dotted part is the front of the Belladone’s skirt, and the rectangle is the tracing paper sheet. I should have cut the fabric corresponding to the dotted part, and only the dotted part… but I don’t know why, I also left the striped one. The fold lines right in the middle of the pattern piece? Didn’t seem to bother me…! So of course after sewing the pocket I ended up having to cut some of the skirt on the side, then at the hem, then finding out that I was 4 inches short at the waist… Huge fail.
I managed to save it by making smaller folds, and using tiny seam allowances, but the seams on the sides will be there to remind me of my stupidity.
I also made the darts too long, sewed the biais binding in a very crooked way, and took pictures without ironing…
Other than this, I really like this dress, from afar at least! I have wanted a nautical version of the Belladone for a long time, exactly like this, Klein blue with white and red striped biais binding. I won’t go into details on how much I love Deer&Doe patterns (I’m far from objective when it comes to this) but the Belladone is indeed a very nice dress. I promise, next time I make it I’ll be more careful!
I do have to end on a picture of my shoes, totally unrelated but I love them so much 🙂
Nautical Belladone
Belladone by Deer&Doe
Size 38
Cotton Gabardine from the Marché St Pierre
Striped biais binding from Fil 2000
[…] a bit tall (5’7” or so). I have the same issue with my Bleuet, my Sureau and my Belladone, I always feel a bit uncomfortable wearing them because of the length. For Réglisse, it’s […]
Hi Camille! I love your blog and you’re creativity 🙂 You inspire me and gotten me hooked on Deer and Doe patterns haha! I’ve made a dark green Belladone dress (inspired on the picture of you wearing it on the Deer and Doe site). The bodice tured out too big so next time I’ll make some alterations before starting to sew. But I was wondering… Is there a seam allowance included on the armholes and neckline? The way I put on bias binding doesn’t need seam allowance (but maybe I don’t do it the right way). Does that mean that I have to cut 1,5cm of the armholes and neckline before I start putting on the bias binding? I hope you can help me 🙂
Nathalie
Hi Nathalie, sorry it took me so long to answer but now I have an answer from Eleonore herself! You do not need to trim off the armholes and neckline before sewing the bias binding. If you chose to use it as a facing instead of binding the allowances, the neckline and armholes will simply be a bit more low cut. Hope this helps!
Hi Camille! Thank you for your help 🙂 I’m looking forward to make a new summer edition of the Belladone dress with some alterations (smaller size bodice, bigger size skirt and maybe using bias binding as facing to make the shoulders smaler) now that spring is in the air B-) … or ordering a Bleuet or Centaurée patern and give them a try is very tempting too. My last project was the long version of the Anémone skirt, it turned out absolutely perfect! I so love Deer&Doe paterns 🙂 Greetings from Belgium! Nathalie
I love the Bleuet and the Centaurée! The Centaurée especially is so comfortable and fun to make… I’ve never made Anémone, it’s been on my list for a long time but I can’t decide on the fabric. I’m glad to see that Deer&Doe enthusiasts are taking over the world 😉