Butterfly Frock

So this post is waaaaay overdue. I finished this dress over 2 months ago and had attempted twice to write a blog post about it, but Blogger was not being my friend. I hope I can remember all the stuff I wanted to write!

The story behind this dress- I purchased this fabric last year, for no other reason than it was $4/m. I have a terrible habit of buying fabric because it's cheap, with no project in mind for it. It's a habit I'm trying to break!

The fabric sat on the shelf for months, until I purchased three pairs of awesome tights at the end of summer. Grey, ultra-bright turquoise, and burnt orange. I got them home and thought, "WHAT the hell am I going to wear these orange ones with???" Then one day as I was staring at my fabrics, pondering what to make next, it hit me that the orange butterflies on this fabric are the exact same shade of orange!

Next dilemma- what to make? I knew I wanted a dress, and I knew it had to be a 'wintery' dress. I love the sleeves on New Look 6000 but I'm still not too sure about the fitted skirt. So I decided to make the KwikSew 3521 because I love the skirt and I've made two of them so I knew I wouldn't need to make a toile (muslin). I cut out the dress and lining from the KwikSew and the sleeves from the New Look and it all worked!

Pattern used: KwikSew 3521/New Look 6000

Fabrics and notions 

Quilter's cotton

16" zipper

Black lining fabric

Orange buttons

 
Pattern alterations or any design changes

I lined the skirt (the KwikSew pattern only has a bodice lining) and added sleeves, obviously.

Did you use any new skills?  

Yes, I lined the whole garment. This was a bit confusing but I contacted Kerry from Kestrel Finds And Makes and she helped me out.

Cost
Pattern: Hmmm, I've already used these patterns, so I'm not going to include them in the cost.
Fabric: $4/m...I used just under 3m. So about $11

Lining fabric: Purchased from an op shop. Used about $2 worthZipper: $1.50
Thread: Stash
Hook and eye: Stash

Buttons: From a big box that cost $2. About 1 cent eachTotal: About $14.50

Whoops, I realised AFTER I'd sewn on and overlocked the cuffs that they were on backwards!

 Wearability factor

Very high! I wore it to work and I think it looked fabulous with my tights! What do you think?

(don't tell me what you think of my facial expression)