1.16.2014

swish!

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

First of all, HI THERE and thank you so much for all the hollers and hooplas about Project Sewn!!! Currently I'm wading in a pile of half finished garments obsessing and losing Zs as predicted!!! And finding little time to reply to all the lovely comments but I appreciate EVERY ONE OF THEM!!! AS YOU CAN TELL BY MY MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! I will try my best to do you proud!!! Second of all

I

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

LOVE

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

THIS

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

DRESS!!!!!

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

A LOT.

She is the latest installment from the lovelies at By Hand London, she is the Georgia dress, she fit RIGHT OUT OF THE PACKAGE. She is exquisitely drafted, she is my new little black dress, who would have ever thought I'd have two in my technicolor closet?

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

She's done up for my January Mood Sewing Network project, made with Mood Fabric's italian double face wool & lycra jersey. The fabric is thick enough to skim and hug in all the right places, and incredibly yummy to sew with. Except for the part where I godzilla steamed one of the bust cups and forever wrinkled it. I have recently become reacquainted with the steam function on my iron, after lladybird Lauren's mantra that'll steam out got stuck in my craw. Probably not the best choice on wool. To which Lauren would most certainly say DUH.

Not that noticeable in real life however, I'm all good with it (I desaturated the colors in these Ruggalicious shots so you could see the seamlines, those steamy wrinkles are far more subtle IRL, as the kids say).

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

I have a serious question for the ladies of by hand london: is it hard being so FRIGGING FABULOUS? I'M SORRY ARE YOU KIDDING ME! THIS DRESS MAKES ME CATCALL MYSELF!!! 

Ahem.  I'm admittedly proud of this one.   I can't help it.

I added stretch fringe around the bottom, simply crossing my fingers that such a thing existed and jumping for joy when I found it at Daytona Trimmings. Perhaps I was inspired by the BHL furry shoe'd photoshoot? I wanted length, but I also wanted leg, so I attached the 6 inch fringe to hit at the original hem, then cut the dress away underneath.

Couple pointers, check the length of your straps before sewing them in, I shortened mine by 2 inches after sewing up the bodice lining, high on the fact that it was all fitting perfectly, and zipperless. If you want a little more structure but don't want to mess with boning, I found that topstitching the cups of both lining & main gave them just enough oompf.

oonaballoona | a sewing blog | mood fabrics | by hand london georgia dress

Now I need am oompfy occasion, as this jammie wasn't ready for New Year's. GROUNDHOG'S DAY. I AM TOTALLY WEARING THIS FOR GROUNDHOG'S DAY. Maybe that li'l bugger will come out when he sees this number. Nudge nudge, wink wink, knowwhatimean?

this swishy dress was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network, and the pattern was provided to me in exchange for pattern testing (and yes, it got an A!)

117 comments:

  1. Dear Ooona, wonderful dress, will you go on a date with me you sexy babe you.

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  2. This is delightful! I love love love it! The fringe is a PERFECT touch!

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  3. Oh YES you did!! Fringing was a goddamn stroke of genius and am definitely going to have to copy you. hot hot hot stuff!

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  4. Who are you and what have you done with Oona!!!!!!!!!!! Two LBD's in as many months?!?!?! Whoever you are, you look gorgeous in this dress and are doing Oona proud. ;-)

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  5. You rock so much lady. Now I want one of these too!

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  6. Congratulations on Project Sewn one more time. I didn't follow last season, or any season, but I will be this time around. I think it's going to be a good one.

    I want to make this dress! And even I was catcalling you through the inter webs! Good job and thanks for all the tips.

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    1. thanks maddie! i want to see you in a winter white version...

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  7. Gorgeous dress! I love the fringe at the hem - genius!

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  8. Oh, wow! I just catcalled you from Maryland! lol Love it! I'm going to have to make that dress. Because I'm rather endowed I think I'll put batting in the bust cups between the fabric and the lining, though. My girls need all the support they can get.

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    1. you know, i was thinking of a foam cup but i never considered batting. perfect choice.

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  9. Amazing, you are rocking this dress! The fit is perfect1

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  10. Gorgeous!! I think this is the only lbd you'll ever need from now on :) Can't wait to make my own Georgia..

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    1. you're gonna love it. and i think you're right, but who knows, i seem to be loving black lately...

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  11. Freaking fabulous. Swish that fringe baby!

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  12. That much gorgeousness has got to be illegal!

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  13. obviously we must find an occasion for cocktails in order to celebrate this brilliant make. i especially love the fringe.

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    1. having not made it to any sewist fancy holiday meetups, i gotta agree. champagne?

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  14. PERFECT LBD!!! LOVE. You look gorgeous as always :)

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  15. Insanely gorgeous. I demand a bonus picture in a dimly-lit cocktail lounge with your drink of choice in hand.

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  16. Ok, this has done it, I am ordering this pattern NOW! I have benn umming and aaaahing about it for a while, but you have convinced me! Fab-u-lous!!
    Oh and by the way: That'll steam out is my new mantra too!! I tried to steam out a wrongly set seam but somehow that did not work ;-) what would Lauren say??!

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  17. SO beautiful! I've been wanting some fringe in my wardrobe, just like this! Perfect for dancing.

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    1. really, fringe just puts you in a constant state of dance. it should be a requirement in any closet.

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  18. You really should be so proud, you got an amazing fit & I love the top stitching! love the fringe! Heart attack dress!!!

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  19. *jaw drops/rapidly blinking eyes/head nod*
    That's all I got for ya right now. :)

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  20. sassy lady!!!! and you do look as lovely in black as you do in bright colors!

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    1. you know, i looked in the mirror one day and i was shocked to realize black is good for me.

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  21. HA! Godzilla steaming. I wouldn't know anything about that. Nope. Not me unt uh never. (LIES!) I'm glad I'm not the only sewer out there who gets aggressive with an iron! Enthusiastic maybe? Let's go with that ;)

    Anyhow... YOWZA that dress is amazing!!!! Thanks to you I have one more thing to add to my list of stuff I'm clearly missing in my life - stretch fringe!

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    1. i swear i wield that iron like a monster sometimes! i would love to see what you'd do with fringe :)

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  22. Gorgeous, sexy, classy, sassy, jaw-dropping, beautiful, alluring, dazzling, stunning, wonderful...both you and the dress. And the fit is great. Shall I stop here? Oh and I love the new setting!

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  23. As a self-proclaimed marmot, I approve of the usage of special dresses on Groundhog Day.
    And what a special dress this one looks!

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    1. ah, of course! well? are you making a marmot dress?

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    2. I shall proudly wear my fichu en marmote! And maybe make a new one?
      And I could photograph myself with my toy groundhog, because.
      It's not called Groundhog Day around here, though... It's called Hromnice, which has something to do with thunder, I'm not sure why. There's probably some sort of old and forgotten superstition attached to it.

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  24. Oooh yeah! You've gone and done it again lady...that fringe on the bottom is so much fun!

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  25. While watching the actors walk the red carpet at the Golden Globles, I was stuck by a wonderful fantasy. In it, you were one of those actors. "Who are you wearing?" asks the reporter. "ME!" you reply.

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    1. i have this fantasy about three times a day. in it, my reply varies in volume from demure to ear shattering.

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  26. Super Cute dress. Love the fringe at the hem.

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  27. Fantastic! I'm going to have to check out that wool jersey--good call on the fabric. Plus you'll get the groundhog all hot for you so he won't go back in the ground, saving us all from six more weeks of winter!

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    1. they've got it in charcoal now, but it's super delicious. and i like the groundhog prediction. BRING IT GROUNDHOG.

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  28. Oona, that dress really looks awesome! The fringe gives it a 20´s tweak!

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    1. the 20's almost kept me from doing it..... and now i can't get enough of it :)

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  29. You are the hotness! I must get onto this one and hopefully mine will fit like a glove too!

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    1. um, i have NO DOUBT yours will. i eagerly await your fabric choice, too.

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  30. Fabulous dress..how could the groundhog not appear for that dress!

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  31. All male groundhogs will be at your feet in blind adoration while the females turn their backs at you, green with envy!

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    1. hey man, as long as the females don't predict spring, i'm totally good with that.

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  32. well, hello gorgeous! i bet you wanna dance your ass off in this lbd! that fringe trim is made for dancing!

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  33. Ohhhh, could that be any more perfect?! Gorgeous, just gorgeous!

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  34. Replies
    1. lisa, do it. i can only imagine what gorgeous fabric you'd pull for it!

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  35. I'm not sure where to start...This dress is practically perfection and the trim is such a perfect finishing touch.

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    1. i appreciate the start and the end of that sentence :) thankya!

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  36. this looks ahhhh-mazing on you! what a perfect LBD. i adore the addition of fringe, keeping it oonalicious ;-). best wishes on project sewn, super excited to see how it plays out!

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  37. I regularly see at least one whistle-pig foraging by the side of the road as I drive home from work each day! I feel sure that you, in this dress, would make them sit up and notice. You do realize that just one of these large rodents is about half as big as you are? And, they bite. But I hear they are delicious (if a bit greasy) ... don't know, as I've never eaten any, myself.

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  38. Wear it to your next audition. Totally swish it there.

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    1. ooooh how i want to. it's a strange balance at auditions. why not make it stranger :)

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  39. Wow! This dress looks gorgeous on you! And adding the fringe was brillant. I'm pretty sure you should wear this dress EVERYWHERE, even non-swishy locales.

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  40. You sassy, fringey gal! Good luck with project sewn!

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  41. Me reckons you should save this oonalicious number for THAT BATHROOM reveal/celebration!!

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    1. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  42. Wonderful dress, you look absolutely gorgeous! x

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  43. HAHA You are so funny! YES WOLF WHISTLE YOURSELF PLEASE! I'm joining in! And I can't believe how gorgeous By Hand London are all round really!

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  44. Woweee, this is a bombshell dress for sure! I love the added fringe!! It adds a nice 20s flair to it.

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  45. LOL @ self-catcalling

    Beautiful dress!

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  46. Stunning! I love a bit of fring and this is the perfect way to do it. Very classy!

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  47. Girrrl! I know you are chill'n! Literally!!!

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  48. Could you look more hot? Seriously, just wear it constantly.

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    1. to the grocery store, to take out the trash, to make LIFE BETTER...

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  49. I don't know how to type a wolf whistle but that's what I'm doing right now ;)

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  50. You look mahvellous. That fringe is pure genius, It will bring all the groundhogs to your yard.

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  52. This dress is the JAM! I've been feeling fringe lately, and it's inspiring to see you putting it to such sexy use. Also, your hair: Yes!

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    1. teehee! i tried to do a fauxhawk but the wind had different ideas :)

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  53. I think that not only will the Groundhog come out but Bill Murray too. This is divine!

    xxx

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!