Every now and then a pattern comes along that I seem to want to make over and over. I don't know if it is the genius of the pattern or only a total lack of imagination on my part, but for the moment the Lily linen dress seems to be it. 2012-13 is my summer of the Lily, made in all types of fabric from the intended linen to cotton and jersey, from maxi to mini and pretty much everything in between. Short of a ceremonial burning at the stake this pattern is not leaving my cutting table any time soon. 
My infatuation with certain patterns seems to go hand in hand with an infatuation with a particular designer. Last season it was Eileen Fisher and the wide body top and slim maxi skirt. This season it is "Eileen Who?" and my fickle affections have moved on to Kaliyana and her extravagant tucked, gathered and crushed creations. Consequently I have returned from my holidays armed with a pile of thin, plain cotton wovens and champing at the bit to create some Kaliyana magic in my sewing room (hopefully!).
My first few attempts were not promising, after a sewing hiatus over Christmas my mojo is sulking. Nothing like a TNT pattern such as the Lily to come to the rescue.
My plan is simple: a Lagenlook SWAP consisting of Lily dresses, worn over skirts or pants, or one Lily over the top of another. The latter sounds even weirder than the usual Lagenlook, but the cottons I bought in the tropics are so thin that they need either a slip or a lining anyway. Why not wear two dresses of different colours, the top one ruched, tucked or draped to show a bit of the other underneath?
So here is my first attempt, inspired by this Kaliyana dress.
To make the top dress I modified the Lily pattern by lenghtening it by 15 cm, extending the shoulders into a cap sleeve and tucking the skirt.
To tuck the skirt you need to make two tucks at CF, CB and both side seams. They are 12cm long and 3cm deep. The first one in each case is 35cm up from the hem and the second one 30cm above that, straddling the fold line or side seam. Then there are 2 more tucks in between each of these sets of two, offset, making 16 tucks all up. These I eyeballed, while my dress form Kunigunde obligingly modelled the dress for me.
For the bottom layer I only lengthened the pattern by 15cm and left it sleeveless. I always make my Lily dresses with a CB seam, as this saves quite a lot of fabric and is also an additional fitting opportunity. Besides, you can never have too many vertical lines.
Just one more thing: for those of you who have not read my other reviews of the Lily, the armscye and sleeves are problematic, for my body shape at least. I always merge these with a TNT tee-shirt or bodice pattern, depending on the fabric I am using. |
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I bet it looks amazing when you move! Love your take on the Lily dress.
1/5/13 6:14 AM
Another gorgeous creation!
1/5/13 7:37 AM
Magnificent. Love the dual colors.
1/5/13 9:20 AM
Fantastic! Love to read about summer as I gaze out the window on 2 feet of snow.
1/5/13 12:55 PM
Well done on such a creative interpretation. Love the idea of the fine cottons, especially in the heat of the Australian summer. This dress is fabulous. THanks for posting!
1/5/13 7:07 PM
Beautiful dress!
1/5/13 7:13 PM
Love the idea of the layered dresses - this will end plenty of variety to your wardrobe.
1/5/13 10:10 PM
Gorgeous! I love the way they all look so different.
1/6/13 1:49 AM
Inspiring!
1/6/13 4:15 AM
Wow!
1/6/13 4:44 AM
You are inspiring!!!
1/6/13 5:57 AM
Can I ask some advice? I am doing a knit class with Tessutti in Sydney - do you think I could Lagenlook the Lily in some way with knitted fabric?
1/6/13 5:58 AM
Can I ask some advice? I am doing a knit class with Tessutti in Sydney - do you think I could Lagenlook the Lily in some way with knitted fabric?
1/6/13 6:12 AM
Ooooooh! I really like that. It would be interesting to see how that distressed effect at the hem of the Kaliyana dress was done.
1/6/13 8:43 AM
this is brillant. Love the tucking on the top layer. Every version you have done of this dress is great.
1/6/13 9:38 AM
Wow! I love it. I have the Lily dress pattern and since it's winter here in the northern hemisphere, I'm thinking of making it in a light wool crepe. What do you think?
1/6/13 1:45 PM
njw424, I think wool crepe would be lovely. Just watch those shoulders and sleeves! Pam, I have answered your pm. I think the Lily would look great as a tunic. I have also made it in a jersey as a maxi and that looks good as well. I used a TNT tee-shirt for the armscyes and sleeves.
1/6/13 10:41 PM