Dressed for Derby

What a fun project this turned out to be! My daughters went to the Kentucky Derby this year and, of course, needed new dresses. The Oaks is the day before Derby and is partnered with Bright Pink, an organization which focuses on risk reduction and early detection of breast cancer. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink and they do!

Remember the Little White Dress Contest sponsored by Patternreview.com? Well, Hannah wore her little white dress with a beautiful pink hat which she bought on ebay. The hat has a stargazer lily which is the official flower for The Oaks.

 

Just for fun, Hannah entered the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest. Simon Baker from The Mentalist was one of the judges and told her that she looked "beautifully understated". Made her day!

The next day was the 140th running of The Kentucky Derby. Sarah wore Vogue 1236 in red/white striped seersucker. I made the same adjustments that I made for "The Underwear Dress" and it turned out great! I lined it with a cotton batiste and added a zipper to the back to make it easier to put on and take off.

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She wanted a monogrammed bow for her hat because it's all about the hats at The Derby.

Hannah's dress is Vogue 8648. I've had this pattern in my stash for a Susan Khalje class on Craftsy but haven't had the time to start. The pattern was designed to be cut on the bias. Instead, I marked the straight grain and cut the medium weight linen straight. There are lots of seams for taking up and letting out so it was extremely easy to get a good fit.

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My daughters loved their classic Made by Mommy dresses. While Hannah was standing in line for the Longines Fashion Contest, one of the contestants asked her if her dress was Lily Pulitzer. She told her no, it's a JanMade! That makes it all worthwhile.

Vogue 8469

Now this was a very satisfying sewing project! My daughter told me on a Saturday that she needed a new dress to wear to a banquet at her college on the following Wednesday. She wanted a white dress to wear with a red jacket she bought at Forever 21. Her school colors are red and white. It's always a little difficult to find a pattern that works for her because she is very petite. Hancock Fabrics had several pretty summer white fabrics and Vogue patterns were on sale. I have always liked this pattern and luckily it came in a size 6 which I only had to take up slightly to make it fit.

The midriff section has an interesting curve to it, higher in the front and dipping down in the back. I was a little concerned that she wouldn't be able to wear the brown belt that she wanted to wear but it worked out okay. I made thread loops at the side seams to keep the belt in place.

The gathers are on the sides of the front and back sections. This turned out to be a very flattering detail. Leave it to Vogue to get all the little details right.

My daughter loves this pattern and I loved making it for her. I'm on the lookout for another great fabric. By the way, it only took about 2 1/4 yards of 45 inch fabric for her size 6 dress!