Monday 20 February 2017

Colette Floral parfait and Blueberry parfait

When Colette's Parfait pattern was first released, I made 3 versions in quick sucession, all of which worked very hard in my wardrobe for several summers and became threadbare.



SAM_3114




I was then incredibly foolish, and made 2 versions for my then 17 year old daughter. This was a serious miscalculation, as naturally, having a perfect 17 year old figure, she looked so beautiful in this dress that no sensible middle aged mother could possibly wear a dress made from the same distinctive pattern  whilst in her vicinity.
Fortunately for my vanity, this daughter now lives several hundred kilometres away, so this summer, I've made myself some new Parfaits, which I must remember to leave at home when I visit my daughter.
DSC07773
Parfait 6, in a floral cotton print. This fabric is quilting cotton, which is actually a very good weight for this sundress. You can see that as usual for me, I've adapted the straps to remove the button fastenings, and substituted a 4 gore skirt for added swishiness and coolness-to-wear.
DSC07748

Parfait 7, in a very interesting souvenir fabric from Sri Lanka. This finely striped cotton, woven on a hand loom, is a little heavier than a quilting cotton, and started its life as a masculine sarong, as worn by Tamil men in Batticaloa. These are sewn into a simple tube, which is no problem to a fabricoholic with a quick unpick.There is just enough fabric in one of these sarongs for a sundress, and there are two sarongs left in my holiday fabric stash. I adore souvenir fabric.
DSC07758
Gratuitous photograph of looms in Sri Lanka.
2016-12-09 10.09.51

9 comments:

Summer Flies said...

Nice to see you back! I love your dresses and how exciting to use souvenir fabric. Perfect for these hot summer days.

colesworth said...

fabric is definitely the best souvenir ;o) Pretty dresses!

Sew, Jean Margaret said...

Both your Parfait sun dresses are gorgeous and suit you beautifully.

fabric epiphanies said...

They are both lovely dresses and the style looks as though it was made for you.

Carolyn said...

I think you could definitely wear this when visiting your daughter... you're a knockout!!!

cidell said...

Your parfaits are perfect and I think you could totally wear them around her. Honestly when I glanced through I assumed it WAS her!

Mary Nanna said...

You have a gorgeous figure and I am sure you compare very favourably with your daughter in your parfaits.

I like how Burda style sometimes has "mother and daughter" matching outfits but for the daughter they raise the hem and lower the neckline and for the mother vice versa. It's surprising how often the mother looks better in the outfit - something about the understated elegance of a longer line and a softer silhouette.



Anonymous said...

These are delightful dresses. Meh. Who cares about 17 year olds??!

katherine h said...

I'm hearing you on the sewing for beautiful daughters!!

Your dress looks really lovely and perfectly suited to you, so I say wear it everywhere! The first version is my favourite.