Snow White & The Emery Dress

Bonjour from sunny Nice!!

I’m here for a wedding and a few days holiday for my anniversary and have grabbed a minute before the madness ensues to share my latest, frankly bonkers, make… The Snow White Emery Dress, which I would like to enter in the as my last Indie Pattern Month challenge… New To Me! I have loved being part of TMS’s Indie Pattern Month and have met so many lovely new sewers through it so can’t wait for next month’s challenge. Anyway… the dress:

The pattern…From the moment I started taking part in these challenges I knew the Emery Dress by Christine Haynes had to be in there- I’ve seen so many amazing renditions of this dress and love it’s classic shape and style. So the ‘new to me’ category was perfect, as I’ve never tried a Christine Haynes design and last week I bought and downloaded the PDF and got planning! The PDF was easy to build up, unlike some, and the instructions were clear and easy to follow throughout. I decided against the bow and collar of the chosen short sleeved view A, as I felt like the fabric was busy enough but I’d love to make a black emery with a white or lace collar. It’s such a cute dress and I will be making lots of these. Also it fits perfectly- I didn’t have to change a thing! Yay!

The fabric… Is an amazing Snow White & The Seven Dwarves Disney single duvet cover from yet another car boot sale! I spotted it as I was walking in and ran straight to it thinking I might have to fork out but when I asked the price the man said £1 and I felt like I stole it for that price. I was so happy!! It definitely needed the 3 washes I put it through as it is well loved kids duvet but I was determined to make it a dress. It’s quite a heavyweight cotton and has a brushed feel (maybe just worn down!) to it which makes it nice and soft. It cut and sewed up brilliantly – just like a new cotton and it’s my favourite fabric yet. I only had one side of the duvet with the full print on to work with so I have tried to match and be as clever as I could with it with what I had. The other side is a yellow and red chequered print with the occasional white outline dwarf head on it… It’s very cute and it makes a perfect lining for the bodice and pocket bags. (Like an idiot I forgot to get pictures of the lining and now I’m in Nice and my dress is at home… I miss it already!) anyway it’s darn cute and makes me very happy!

Techniques… I sewed up everything in straight stitch and overlocked the seams apart from the neckline where I graded it to reduce bulk. I didn’t actually have any problems apart from the matching caused quite an odd scene at the waist with Doc’s face looking like a Picasso (not in a good way) so I used a brilliant thick red cotton ribbon that I happily found in my stash and sewed on at the top and the bottom folding it in to stop before the zip either side at the back. I’m so pleased I found this ribbon because it goes brilliantly and ties it all together! 🙂

I’ve cheekily managed to get Snow White’s sleeve as the left sleeve and her hand as the right which I found very amusing (maybe I should get out more!) Im so pleased that I could have Snow White herself at the base of the skirt so she’s not gathered or distorted by darts and I LOVE the grass scene across the chest with Dopey on my back.

I really did try and get all the main features in the best places and the red edging to be a feature too but it really was hard with just one side of a single duvet cover. Anyway I really really love this dress and already wore it to perform my songs in Camden last night… These pictures where taken when I got home and I’m happily wearing an amazing headpiece by my friend and sometime stylist, Hippy Poppins. I think they go together rather well and I can’t wait to wear this get up on a festival stage soon!

So that’s all for me and Snow White – I’m off to beginning of the wedding celebrations now and I only brought handmade dresses to wear all weekend… Yay for sewing! 💃👗👰

Lots of love,