Echino ruby dress

Phew - it's been a bit quiet around here lately!  Happily, I had a quiet weekend which allowed me to finish a few bits and bobs so I have some things to blog about.

Back when I made my first Ruby dress (and my second, in the same weekend...), I bought this Echino fabric from Stitchbird with the idea of making a summer version.  Apart from the lovely print, I really liked this slightly lighter weight linen/cotton blend fabric - I think the linen content makes it drape slightly better than a pure cotton, and it's extra wide as well (yay!).  I pre-washed the fabric and then it sat around for quite a while, until I realised that my day trip to the Auckland Festival of Quilts with my quilting buddies was coming up fast, and that it would be the perfect place to wear a crazy quilty dress! (It was, and it was also an awesome day where I got to hang out with my local quilting girls, and catch up with or meet a bunch of lovely kiwi bloggers who you should really check out, including Rachel, Deb, Julie, Juliet, Leonie, Liz and probably others that I've missed!)

I whipped this version up in a day - it really is a super easy make.  I ended up making a size small (the first version I made a size medium, and the second version has a medium yoke and small body pieces), which was definitely a good move in this lighter fabric.  I also added about 4" of length to the body pieces, which, for me, still left the dress above the knee but a bit longer than a mini dress.

This is the back view - it's a very comfortable dress and I'm sure I'll get a decent amount of wear out of it in summer when the weather is warmer.  Rae's Ruby Dress and Top pattern is great and I would totally recommend it if you're a quilter wanting to dabble in garment sewing.  I think I'll have to try the top version soon!  And sorry, I know there are no pics of me wearing the dress.  I've been sick lately and I just couldn't summon up the energy to get dressed up and take photos!  I may post pictures at a later date though.

I'll be linking to finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts later in the week!