Gertie's Shirtwaist Dress and an Announcement!

Soooo, I made another shirtwaist dress from Gertie's book!  Have I mentioned how much I love this dress??  I could seriously live in these!  This dress is impeccably drafted and is so freakin comfortable and at the same time adorable, I think everyone needs one!

I made this dress in a different cotton lawn.  This lawn, I had been eyeing from Denver fabrics for a looooong time, but I never bought it.  A couple months ago, I decided that I was just going to buy it and get it over with.  Shortly after I got my copy of Gertie's book and it was a match made in heaven :P  I must say that I am a *little* disappointed in this fabric.  It is slightly see through and isn't as soft as my green dress.  I bought both pieces of fabric from Denver fabrics (FYI).

Here is the shot of the back with the shirring.  Have I mentioned that I love this dress yet??  I wore it out to dinner last night and it was super comfortable.  The one thing I changed about this dress is the shoulders.  I took 1/2" out of the top of the shoulder.  I think this dress is slightly more flattering than the green one, however I love both. 

Ohhh the glorious shirring!  Have I mentioned that I love this dress? :P  Okay, enough of that.  My shirring lines look a little wonky here, but they are actually super straight-it's just how the dress is on the hanger.  This shirring is amazing and I loveses it.  I want to add shirring to every dress I own.  

Okay, as much as I love the shirring, I HAD to show you my buttons.  I had some teal buttons that I was going to use for the dress originally, but they were a little too contrasting.  So, I wanted to make fabric covered buttons and then I remembered a vintage dress I saw at a local vintage dress shop.  There were two layers of fabric on the buttons, one of white satin and another of white lace (it was a wedding dress).  I fell in love with the idea and vowed to use it as soon as possible!  Flash forward a year (isn't that how it always happens), I was putting all of my new fabric from L.A. away and realized that I had a ton of teal lace and it would be a perfect time to use this technique.  I'm not going to lie, it was MUCH harder to do two layers of fabric on the buttons than just one, but I think it was worth it.  IT adds a little texture and a little color, but from far away, it just looks like teal buttons. I would definitely use this technique again.

So, for the big announcement??  I am officially announcing the sew along for this dress!  I am so excited!    My wonderful hubby is going to make us a button and everything (more to come on that), and I have the whole thing kind of planned out.  I even saved my first muslin to show you guys (aren't I nice?).  The sew along officially starts on February 4th!  I figured that would be enough time for people to gather supplies, but I will be posting fabric recommendations and a supply list before then.

So, are you going to be joining me in making yet another shirtwaist dress??