Three Francoise Dresses

Hello!
I've been considering starting a blog for a while to keep track of my sewing makes and my progress towards a new, healthier me. The Tilly and the Buttons #SewingFrancoise competition seemed like a pretty good opportunity for this.
I've been sewing clothing since April 2014 and I still consider myself to be very much a beginner (everything I make is really a wearable muslin, rather than a perfect item) but i'm actually pretty proud of these makes.
First up is my 60s mod version.

 

This was my first attempt. It's made from a lovely white herringbone linen that I bought when I was on honeymoon in Sri Lanka recently. It worked out to about £3.50 a metre and the quality is phenomenal. It was probably a little bit too stiff for the patterns (I can't raise my arms above my head) but it was beautiful to work with. The vertical stripe and cuffs are both a lovely silky polka dot bias binding that I bought from a local haberdashery. I've also used this as a trim on the collar.

 

My second version is my favourite. It's whimsical, cute and (I think) pretty wearable!

 

The fabric is a quilting cotton designed by Tina Givens... and yes, those are elephant hot air balloons. It was quite expensive (about £13/metre) but was a gift from my husband. I'd earmarked it for a Colette Hawthorne but the fabric was too narrow for the skirt and I hadn't made the pattern before so didn't want to hack it. In retrospect i'm pretty pleased about that because I am completely in love with this dress. That said, when I first made it up I felt like it needed another feature to give it a bit of life, so I embellished the collar using some beads and the decorative stitches on my machine. The white for the collar was taken from my stash (I think it orignally came from a car boot).

 

Finally I wanted something that had more of an eveningwear tone.

I had some gorgeous red (possibly) cotton, Japanese style fabric which I bought on a trip to Bath in the summer for about £4/metre. You can't see it too well in the main photo, so here is a closer view.

 

This time, I chose not to include the collar and sleeves. However, I still wanted the 60s vibe so I included the tab. I considered self-fabric buttons but decided against this as the fabric was quite stiff and, frankly, an absolute nightmare to sew with. It improved significantly once I started to use a walking foot but it still had a bit of bounce and it meant the finish on this dress isn't as neat as my other versions. Instead I used two buttons from my stash. These were gifted to me from a perfect stranger as part of the Perfect Strangers Project. If you ever read this, perfect stranger, thanks!

Hopefully you have enjoyed looking at my versions. I'd love to hear your thoughts on which you prefer!

Heather

 

P.S Thanks to my wonderful friend Katie for taking the photos!