When Datura met Laurel

How to improve upon your two favourite paterns? Combine them of course! I’ve made three Datura blouses (from Deer & Doe) and I think I have four Laurel dresses (from Colette) So for Hack It! I decided to apply  the yoke of the Datura blouse (version A with a triangle cutout neckline) to the Laurel dress.

I used a gorgeous crisp, black Japanese poplin from Cloth House which feels great and washes really nicely. To add a touch of creativity I added crotchet effect cotton lace trimming to the hem to compliment the triangle cutout neckline.

I used the exact pattern pieces from the Datura for the yoke (front and back) but I had to draw myself a new pattern piece for the dress body.  On the front, because the bust darts in Colette patterns are never in the right place for me, I used the dart placement from the blouse and then graded out to the dress body. While on the back I used the Colette darts, and instead of having a seam running up the back I cut it on the fold (so it just pulls over my head).

I used french seams on the side and was really glad to have my edgstitch foot to to the top stitching along the bottom of the yoke and along the bias binding. Because I did an invisble hem I decided to complete the effect by hand stitching the trim on the inside so the triangles would just peak out the bottom. Overall the effect is just perfect! And I am soo pleased with the final result. If you’re interested there are a ton more photos on my blog.

Side view

Front view

Hem with trim

Triangle cutouts

Back view