Friday 27 June 2014

Sewaholic Cambie Dress: A Wearable Muslin

I bought the Sewaholic Cambie Dress from Indie Stitches late last year with great plans for a 'conference Cambie'. Clearly I got a little distracted. Also a really long time ago, I promised my little sister I'd make her a dress of her choosing out of some elephant fabric she'd bought. She chose the Cambie! Well, I wasn't about to give her the first version I made up. I needed to have a practice run to make sure hers was perfect. This version acts as a practice run for Gen's dress as well as a wearable muslin for my future Cambie's.

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

For this dress I made version B (full skirt) in a size 8. I'm pear shaped so I can cut a straight size when using Sewaholic patterns - fantastic! I made no adjustments to the pattern other than to use the width of the folded over fabric for my skirt pieces as it was slightly narrower than the pattern pieces. Hard to believe my skirt could be poofier!

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

My fabric is a a floral lightweight cotton  which I also have in the pink colour way (see Gerties Bow Tied Blouse). This dress is fully lined in white cotton lawn.

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

 I had so much more fun sewing this dress than I antitcipated. There are just so many pieces that I thought it might be a tricky make. But, It really wasn't! Tasia's instructions are spot on. I didn't even need to reference the online sew-along. Simply put, the garment construction just involves making the dress shell, the dress lining and then sewing them together inside out. Gen's dress will be a version A (a-line skirt) and unlined, as she chose a thick fabric, so I imagine her dress will be an even easier make.

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

When I tried on the almost finished dress I could see that the straps would need to be adjusted, but I didn't realise by how much! I ended up removing 3/8" from both the front and back shoulder as well as easing the front sleeve in a further 6/8". Thus, I removed a whopping 1.5" from the sleeve. The finished dress is much improved but some fabric could be removed from the centre front and I also find the bodice a little too long. For my own future versions and Gen's dress I will remove 1/2" from the bodice length.

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

I love this Cambie. It feels super girly with the lined poofy skirt and it totally fits into my preferred fit and flare style. I'm sure I'll get a heap of wear from it in spring. Anyone in Melbourne will know that its too damn cold to be wearing this very springy dress in the middle of winter. So I layered it up with tights, my pink Coppelia Wrap Cardy, another store bought Cardy, a scarf plus my jacket for outside. 

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

Unfortunately, as you can see, these are more indoor shots. I tried to patiently wait for weekend photo opportunities with some of my other makes but I like to wear them as soon as I've made them and then they end up in the washing basket before I get the chance to take photos. The above photos I took in our living area. My sewing room gets better light during the day. But photos in my sewing room are filled with a back drop of WIP's and carpet littered with thread. Bring on Spring/summer!

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

10 comments:

  1. I love the sneak peak into your sewing room it looks great! The dress is very pretty and will be perfect once this cold weather goes away.

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    1. Thanks Susan! I love my sewing space! its really become a special place for me this past year or so.

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  2. The dress is very pretty! I had to take a few pics of my daughter recently, but the weather was nasty. She enjoyed posing on my sewing desk :)

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    1. Yes, I wish I could just stand on a table like I see on so many kid clothes blogs. Don't think any if my tables or desks could take the wait haha

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  3. You amaze me! What a great version of the Cambie. I have been wanting to sew the Cambie and the Belcarra blouse but have yet to get the patterns. I just finished a wearable muslin of my first Emery dress (yea, I am always last to figure trends!). Great job.

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    1. Your not the last at all! It took me so long to get to the cambie! Thanks for you kind words :)

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  4. This is so pretty! I'm hoping to squeeze a Cambie into my summer sewing this year so it's good to hear that the dress all comes together easily. And it's good to know that other people have thread all over the place in their sewing areas!

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    1. Absolutely! Tim hates it! And it seems to travel through our apartment. Good luck with your cambie!

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  5. Super cute! This pattern is in my queue and I am happy to hear that it's fun to make!

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    1. Thanks :) It really was fun. Hopefully you have a similarly enjoyable time making it!

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