Have you ever had an idea in your head, something you really wanted to do or try? I have, for years actually, but my vision was so, I don’t know, treasured to me, that I was afraid of trying and hating the result. Today I’m sharing with you a finished dress where I tried to combine two Liberty prints into an beautiful partnership.

Before I get into showing you photos, I want to get two things out there. First, this is actually the second dress I made with this sort of “color blocking” in mind, but the first is not yet completed due to some fit issues that needed to be addressed. Second, all these photos were taken after a full day of wearing my dress, and after sitting in the car for an hour, so its rather wrinkled in the middle and skirt. I hope you’ll still be able to get a good look at the dress as the fit really is lovely. I also chose to nix bra- but after three kids, I’m thinking I should sport one next time for gravity’s sake, and to lessen the natural wrinkling below the bust line. 

I began with this gorgeous main print, Betsy Y, which is all the way from Australia. It was exclusively recolored for The Strawberry Thief, and the moment I saw it I knew I wanted it in my closet. I purchased it HERE.

I added in Liberty Wylde A, which I actually purchased for the purpose of making a shirt. Maybe I’ll still have enough for that, but I think its absolutely perfect coupled with the pink Betsy. I purchased that print HERE.

The dress actually began with my most trusty, best fitting bodice, the Michelle My Belle Dress from Liberty Love. I completely reshaped the neckline into a V both in the front and back of the dress. I also opted for an extended bodice and slightly shortened waistline. The main bodice is also constructed with a center seam to ensure an absolutely perfect V.

The dress is fully lined which is something I always do because I love a clean finish, and because I think it levels up the entire dress.

The skirt is just a gathered skirt with pockets (I always use the pockets from my free 30 Minute Skirt Tutorial). As I mentioned the main skirt is fully lined, and the bottom band is actually the red Wylde print folded in half so no lining is visible for several inches.

Now that I’ve told you how I achieved the construction of the dress, I want to talk about the aesthetic. As I noted at the beginning, this is actually my second floral mixing attempt. My first dress began much the same way as this one, though I had planned on a maxi length skirt. I had issues with the V on my first dress- I had drafted it about 3 inches too high and left too much width in the shoulders which made it look like a scrub top. It just didn’t look right. I actually attempted to take the whole thing apart and redo the neckline, but I forgot to change out to a small needle, and the large needle that had been left on my machine actually pulled and ripped though the Liberty which made my heart sink and really inhibited my want to push forward.

The other thing I did with that first dress was to make the bodice and neckline in one print, and the skirt in another, which looked a lot like a top and skirt as opposed to a cohesive garment. I asked a friend with a good eye for her opinion, and she suggested that I try to mix the elements a bit more. Thats where I made the change to throw in a different print on the waistline and along the bottom of the skirt. It does look a lot more cohesive this way!

I ended up totally taking apart the first dress and reworking it which I’m very excited about. I hope to have it finished in the next few days so I can show you soon!

-Meredith

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