"What is it?" "Salt!" "No, that's too salty!"

Looks like I took an involuntary blogging break there! There's an even longer one coming up soon because I'm going to Mexico for three weeks in September! I'm sewing some things to pack though, so expect some... pictures of sturdy and simple easy-to-care-for clothes. Ahem. Photographed in Mexico!

Anyway, today I went to see my mother for Mother's day (which we crazy Antwerp people celebrate in August, suck on that) and dragged my brother away from his studying to take pictures of me on the rooftop garden. Mom, if he fails his exam IT'S MY FAULT OKAY?

I have made the Sewaholic Saltspring ages ago and wore that dress to bits (literally-  one of the straps has come loose and it's patiently waiting for me to feel like doing some mending) so when I got this handprinted cotton at Pauwels I thought it was meant to be! (Pauwels is sadly closing by the way, but EVERYTHING is 40% off so go take a look if you haven't already!)

I still love how cleverly this dress is constructed. The lining is a bit shorter than the outer fabric so you get the blousy effect without the dress moving around too much. I made the shorter version due to Not Enough Fabric (not my own fault for once, it was the end of the bolt) and it's basically a perfect summer dress. Even my mother likes it!

This is what happens when my brother starts directing my poses. I also (finally) got a haircut and new color. There's so much blue now!

I made no modifications at all, except for changing the straps a bit (which I also did on the first version). Instead of having a strap in the front and one in the back and tying them on my shoulders I put two straps on the back and a loop on the front. No bows stuck under backpack straps!

The double straps also give a tiny bit more bra strap coverage. Constructing this dress went really smoothly thanks to the great instructions, but I would have changed one thing if I had thought about it earlier: the lining sometimes peeks out at the back (where the zipper is) because the shell isn't attached all the way. If you sew the dress according to the instructions it's the wrong side of the lining that's on show, which is fine in a solid fabric but looks a bit weird with a print. Something to keep in mind for the next one!

PS: I like to think I'm getting better at coming up with post titles. Here's where this one came from!