Dottie Angel Dress+ GIVEAWAY!!

My favorite part? The big pockets!

 Have any of you heard of Dottie Angel? I actually heard of her from reading a Somerset Magazine at Barnes and Noble (reading really expensive magazines and not buying them is a guilty pleasure my moma and I share ;). The lady's real name was Tif and she was talking about how she first started her blog, Dottie Angel, and why. I remember being most impressed by the fact that she made vintage slips into dresses and skirts. Then one day I was on Pinterest and saw a photo attributed to Dottie Angel. You should take a look at her blog if you ever have a spare moment. I love the way she writes! Everything is "peachy" or "perfectly nice". She is no longer writing on that blog, as I believe she is now kinda famous and has an online store, a book, even some Simplicity patterns. And that is where we jump in!

(psst!--look to the bottom for the February GIVEAWAY!!!)

Look at the great fabric combinations! Not my favorite colors, but so inspiring!

I have a confession to make, the kind where I ought to raise a hand and repeat an oath. "I, Samantha, am a fabric hoarder." There, now you know. I love fabric and used to buy copious amounts when Wal-mart had their dollar-a-yard table. Some I have sewn with, plenty more sits, still folded, in boxes or fills trashbags while awaiting their debut. Seriously, if you ever hear that I died in a mysterious fashion it will be because the attic caved in from the weight of my "secret" fabric stash ;). 

It looks like a sack. Or a big pillowcase. It makes me feel think of Dobby from Harry Potter, only mine is new and clean.

The reason I had pinned Dottie Angel dresses for a while was simply because they use as many different colors and patterns of fabric, trim, rickrack, embroidery, as you like. They have the feel of a vintage house-dress, which is right up my alley. Did it hurt that there were no sleeves and only a front and a back? If you've read the post Ms. Sam Wears Dresses, you know that is my favorite kind- simple and, above all, quick. I have my sewing machine on a tiny wooden table hardly bigger than the machine's base, and I get that sucker going so fast that it hops and jumps and sounds like a jackhammer trying to go through the floor. That's how the kids always knew I was sewing...

Really voluminous, and such knobby white legs! It's so wrinkled because I just washed and dried it...and have no intention of ironing  ;)

You would think with my immense wealth of cloth that making things would be easy. Not so much. I love the fabric so passionately that it can take me a very long time to ever get up the nerve to cut it. What if I make a mistake and waste it? What if I make it and don't like it? What if I wish I had it back three days later for the perfect thing? It can take me YEARS to cut it. The fabric for this dress was stored for at least ten years. If you know where to look, there are the faintest fade lines where it had been folded so long. I told you it was a sickness.

Before I got the pattern I read all about it. So many real seamstresses  (obviously not me) had commented on how confusing it was and how many steps simply didn't make sense. I waited till Hobby Lobby had their patterns for a dollar to buy it. Sure enough, there are some real head-scratchers in the instructions. However, I hardly ever follow instructions to the letter, in sewing, cooking, or whatever. This sometimes leads to brilliant success and other times staggering failure. This time I thought the outcome was okay.

Super poofy in the behind area. Need to fix that the next go round.

My original piece of fabric was not big enough to cut the front and back from and have it as long as I wanted. So I just had to add the extra from the side pieces to the bottom. You can hardly tell! I added purple checked ribbon to the pocket tops and some old lavender lace that was laying around to the bottom. I couldn't find any purple bias tape and so I bought 1/4 yard of quilting cotton and cut and pressed it to make my own tape for less than buying it in the packets. I didn't go crazy adding embellishments because I was afraid I would hate the dress and never wear it. 

Disregard the socks, it was a super chilly February day. But, hey, they sorta match!

I've decided to like it despite obvious faults. It is still a bit short. The arm holes (even after I sewed them up MUCH higher than called for) gape so that you can see the upper line of my bra. There is so much fabric in the dress that by the time you tie it back you have a very puffy butt and it sort of pouches out from the back of the neck to where it ties. And the tie is attached literally right at the bottom of my bosom instead of the slightly lower Empire point that is more flattering. 

Isn't the fabric so sweet? When have you seen purple, grey, and spring green together like this?

The pluses are that it is quick and easy and infinitely adaptable, For my next one I will fix the arm holes, take out several inches of fabric from the back, and I will really mix it up with fabrics and trim. Below are some of my possible fabric and adornments for future dresses...

Combo #1-  A close-up of the antique trim from above. It is rick-rack sewn together in an amazing pattern to make this gorgeous trim. The pieced quilt star is one my great granny made and I found in her sewing machine case.

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Combo #2- Crocheted lace and vintage 30's buttons and belt buckle

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Combo #3 - The only one with pink! I love the teeny little quilt square and just look at that great vintage crocheted collar...just "peachy"!

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Combo #4- Check out the vintage trim from above. The lace is made of crocheted strips that are sewn together with blue thread to make the pattern. and the other is small red flowers crocheted into a strip of muslin.

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Combo #5 - Here we have old rick-rack in various sizes, tiny mother of pearl buttons, and a piece of embroidered lace that I think would frame a square neckline perfectly.

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Combo #6- Vintage eyelet lace and old mini rick-rack in a yummy turquoise. The crochet bit is a hot-pad my friend made me. I'm thinking of begging her to crochet me some pockets in the same fashion. Wouldn't that be lovely?

 Hmmm, I never realized how predictable I was until I picked out these favorite piles of fabrics. They are all in shades of blue! (yeah, like you didn't realize that...) But what a wonderful bunch of options for pattern combinations and decorative additions. Only thing is, my house-dresses get super hard usage. They are often full of patches from barbed wire fences and have irremovable stains for gardening. It's going to take pure strength of will to actually cut this fabric for dresses that only a few family and the farm critters will see. But if I decide to save the fabric for "good" dresses it may take another ten years for me to cut it! Oh, the painful indecision!

So, tell me, Dear Reader, which combo do you think I should make into a dress next? And while I'm asking questions, how would you like to have some vintage trims, buttons, and scrap to play with?

February's GiveAway will be for the little puddle of goodies below. Isn't it scrumptious?! If you are interested in winning this, please leave me a comment. If you have trouble leaving a comment (some do, for reasons I don't understand) then you can message me at mssamwearsdresses@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you! The GiveAway will be over Sunday, March 18th when I'll announce the winner and ask for an address where I can send the prize. But keep looking back between now and then, sugar. You might see something else you like!

 GiveAway Prize!!

 If you like hot colors there is something for you. Just look at that orange rickrack in the original packaging for 15 cents! And a vintage needlepack. The red and orange flower sprig fabric is a scrap from one of my sundresses when I was tiny...

 And if you love pastels there is a plenty for you- a chenille flower from a bedspread just ready to adorn an apron. Or vintage scraps perfect for pockets or dress yokes. Plus lace scraps and vintage buttons for embellishing. Surely you could find inspiration in this gathering...

Good luck!