The (belated) thirtieth birthday dress

 

So. I'm getting close to thirty and a half now, but it's never too late to share a nice dress, is it? I made this dress (and a matching tie for mr.Jon) on deadline margins, the week before I celebrated my birthday. The dress was finished the morning of the party, and I added the extra sarongish front with the gathered fabric flower some weeks later, so I would have time to finish the tie. And what a tie! I also managed to bake about 100 cupcakes for the party! There has to be cupcakes for birthdays. 

The dress is yet another one from self-drafted pattern with the sweetheart neckline. I bought the fabric in London last year, and I decided that I wanted a Hawaiian-style dress. What wasn't better than throwing a Hawaiian-themed birthday? I got no less than three pineapples that day and an extremely tasty pineapple cocktail... I used the same pattern as for my Back to Beat dress, and nip-tucked it a little when it was mostly sown together (no muslin there... I was in a hurry!). The dress is made from two pattern pieces with facings (three if you include the front sarongish part), without lining (yes, I regret) with the zipper in the side seam, lapped and prick-stitched.

The dress is a lot of fun to wear, and I really like the shape. Next up is a plain black version suitable for everyday use with a cardigan. With weather like this (see below...) coming up for the winter, it's nice to have dresses to wear at work: It's comfortable and easy to change into after walking 30 minutes in rainwear to and from work.