Howdy, friends!
I’m so happy to share one of my favorite ESP dresses with you! It seems like it’s been hanging in my sewing room for so long that I haven’t had a chance to parade around in it. I actually have yet another ESP dress to share with you soon as I get to photographing my backlog of projects. After what seems like two months straight of sewing, I actually haven’t been at my sewing machine AT ALL this week which is very foreign to me! It’s good to take a break as I don’t want sewing to seem like a job to me as that would ruin all of the fun!
This dress is a collaboration between Harts Fabrics, Art Gallery Fabrics and Decades of Style Patterns and is my project for Sew Your Hart Out September. Harts is giving away fabrics, patterns, a Janome sewing machine, a Janome serger and so many more prizes and there’s still time to enter to win! SEW fabulous, I say! You can also check out my tutorial on how I re-size the ESP dress while you’re at it!
[source: Decades of Style Patterns]
This ESP is put together is pretty much the same way as my previous versions, with something new. I lowered the neckline using DoS’s tutorial on G Marie’s blog, and I tell you what — I love my ESP even more! I lowered the neckline about 3/4 of an inch (maybe a little less….. I did not write down the measurement!). I do love the higher neckline, but it kind of bothered me in the heat, so I hadn’t been wearing my ESP dresses when summer hit. The lowered neckline makes my ESP dresses more comfortable to wear and is a permanent alteration I’ll be doing to any I make in the future.
I finished my seams on my serger and installed an invisible zip. I did happen to have a matching one in my stash, but whilst searching through my collection I realized how low I am on invisible zips. I don’t seem to be buying the quantity like I used to, which means my sewing room isn’t as fully stocked anymore…. that may not seem bad to those who can pop around the corner to a sewing shop, but it is for me as I’m not going to drive 30 miles to pick up a zipper. I even noticed my stash of needles is depleted and had to call my husband one day to stop at Joann’s and pick me up some on his way home from work! I definitely need to get back on track with my hoarding supplies.
Anyway….. back to the task at hand! In addition to lowering the neckline, I also did my usual swayback adjustment to the back bodice piece and lowered the hemline about 2″. Pretty much the same things that I’ve done for all of my ESP dresses.
The fabric is this sublime Art Gallery print from the Succulence collection by Bonnie Christine. I chose the Succulence Rosette in Rain for my project. I had a difficult time choosing between this one and the purple version – Fireside. The purple one is what my mom picked when I showed her the designs, but I’m always drawn to green, plus it matches my shoes. Can’t go wrong with that! This is also the first Art Gallery fabric that I’ve sewn with and I am truly and completely in love. It’s such a wonderful fabric with a nice sheen and so soft. Quite unlike other scratchy quilting cottons, which makes it perfect for dresses.
Doesn’t everyone get photobombed by cows?
Another thing that drew me to this fabric was the print. It has “hens and chickens” all over it and I have a ton of those in my garden. I guess I should have posed with them, but I didn’t want y’all to see the weeds…. Also, I don’t know if “hens and chickens” is the proper name for them. That’s what my grandma called them. Just as I don’t know if the “Naked Ladies” that popped up in the garden recently is the proper name for those flowers….
Until next time!
Happy Sewing!
- Dress: Decades Everyday ESP dress in Art Gallery Succulence Rosette Rain quilting cotton, made by me
- Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens Peep Toe Super High
- Belt: Macy’s
- Sunglasses: ModCloth
- Earrings: Bauble Bar
Note: The fabric was given to me as part of my participation in Sew Your Hart Out September. These are my honest opinions.
It’s so pretty! Great color on you. I like that fabric a lot.
Thanks, Natasha!
Try as I might I can’t find the chickens! I LOVE fabrics with hidden animals!
Oh wait, I just read down in the comments and I see that they aren’t actual chickens and I feel foolish! Oh well… real chickens would have been good!
Haha! I guess if you didn’t know the colloquial term, you’d be pretty perplexed! But fabrics with hidden animals are awesome!
You’re fabulous, that dress is fabulous and did I mention you’re fabulous?
Thanks, Melody! So are YOU! 🙂
Scientific flower names are beside the point… I just recently discovered that what my friends and I always called “brain fruit trees” and “itchy ball trees” as kids are actually “paw paw trees” and “sweet gum trees.” The gardener’s daughter in me itches to tell you that there’s about 6 different kinds of succulents referred to as “hens and chicks,” most of them belong to the echevaria family. I didn’t realize naked ladies did well in California, in Va they’re sometimes called August lilies as well. My mom has started growing them in Fl, where they pop up in the winter. I love this fabric! I may have to track some down, I need a few elastic waist skirts to wear with t-shirts.
Hahaha! I don’t have any names for those trees as we don’t have any around here! My grandma brought the naked ladies from my great-grandma’s yard in New Hampshire. They do fine here, but prefer the shade. It doesn’t seem like the gophers bother them either, which is a plus!
That dress is fabulous. You can’t beat a quick make using a TNT pattern. The fabric is gorgeous. I am going with this colour way too, the purple is nice but the green is outstanding. I still have 3 boxes of zips, mostly vintage. Just need things to sew them into. I am very tempted by the ESP dress. It is such a beautiful pattern. Your versions are all beautiful. Xx
Thank you! I’m addicted to green…. I’m always drawn to it! I have a lot of vintage zips, too, but few of them are invisible ones, which are my preferred ones. I guess I should start sewing lapped zips with those, especially with vintage patterns!
Beautiful dress! It’s good to sew up a TNT pattern that you can enjoy sewing, no hassles, no fitting, no last second issues. You look lovely! Great job.
It’s funny you mentioned zippers and needles. Last week I did a little organizing and needed to order both too. I used Amazon for the zippers and eBay for the needles. You can’t have enough in your stash!
Thanks, Bonnie! I’ve never ordered zips or needles on Amazon or eBay. I usually buy them at Joann’s with coupons. I do like ordering the zips from Wawak, but it takes forethought! I should probably buy the needles in boxes and then I won’t run out for a while!
Oh man, I need to make up an ESP. I even have the pattern traced AND now the the instructions for lowering the neckline are readily available, so I don’t know what I am waiting on! No excuses! I love the fabric you used here, the color is great on you. I have heard those succulents called “hens and chicks” before (in fact, I first saw it on a sign at an arboretum, so its probably correct), but I’ve NEVER heard of naked ladies! I’m curious as to what those are but I don’t think googling is a good idea…
Yes, you need to sew one! 🙂 The naked ladies are passing, but I googled it and they’re called the Belladonna Lily http://www.americanmeadows.com/belladonna-lily
Those shoes are fabulous! And hens and chicks is definitely one of the common names but I don’t know about “naked ladies”!
Thanks, Jess! And those shoes are also comfy! Apparently the other name for “naked ladies” is the Belladonna Lily
What a fantabulous dress on you. I love the pattern. And your grandma was right, these are part of the succulent family and are called hen and chickens (or hen and chicks, or chicks and hens, etc…) And, better yet, succulence can also mean “highly interesting or enjoyable.” Perfect!
Thanks, Roary! 🙂
So pretty!! Looks great! The cow looks impressed too lol.
Thanks, Amanda! Yep, I guess so! lol 🙂
Since you picked this colorway, it gives ME free reign to buy the Fireside, which will be crazy awesome with green hair. I love this dress, of course because it is all the things I love in dresses, including that you are lovely wearing it. I love your sunglasses in this pic too. I always call those kind of succulents chicks and hens too. A colloquial name is still a valid name, right?
Fireside will truly look awesome on you! Have you seen the collection in person yet? I just love the feel of this fabric. The sunglasses were a $6 steal. Like I need more….. A colloquial name seems valid to me as well as people know what I’m talking about! 🙂
I haven’t seen it irl, because I haven’t been fabric shopping since my accident. However, I became a fan of Art Gallery back when I would sew samples for Sewtropolis, it is the epitome of what a lovely garment cotton should be I think. Cotton & Steel is the only other company that is comparable (even better, but I’m splitting hairs.)
It’s gorgeous! I love the fabric,and it looks beautiful on you!
Thanks, Marcia! 🙂