When I planned for my birthday / retirement party I hoped for a hot sunny afternoon in the garden but of course this is Yorkshire and the heatwave broke a few days before! Having said that, we were very lucky with the weather as there was a brief shower at lunchtime and then it stayed dry so guests did sit outside as well as inside.
I decided I needed a new dress for the party. A couple of years ago I bought half a yard of gorgeous flowery quilting fabric. I used it for my birds and blooms book…
I don’t often buy quilting fabric for clothes as it is pretty pricy here in the UK, average is £15 /m but the more I looked at this fabric the more I wanted to make a dress out of it. Of course it was about two years since I bought it and fabric is usually made for a fairly short time. I searched on the internet and finally found some which had an off white background instead of the green. I got the last piece though as I ordered 3.5m but they only had a 3m piece and a 1m piece, luckily I could juggle the pieces around.
I decided to make a Deer and Doe Bluett dress. I made this back in 2021 in a dark blue silk dupion. It was a little snug when I made it but having lost a couple of stone since then it now fits beautifully and I love wearing it. This is me back in 2021…
I read my post so I knew I’d added 12″ to the length as I do like long summer dresses. I also added pockets as I love a dress with pockets! I cut the dress out to the same size as last time, however I decided to make the seams a fraction narrower (I just moved my needle over 2 points) as cotton does tend to shrink a little with washing and I thought it’ll just give me a little wriggle room.
The dress goes together really easily, I would say on the whole the instructions were brief but clear. The only bit I didn’t understand was how they did the binding of the armholes, in the end I just cut some bias strips from some cotton lawn and did it my own way. All the seams are overlocked inside and top-stitched outside, the curved hem is done with a 2.5″ facing.
There’s an awful lot of buttons down the front, I actually spaced them slightly wider than the pattern but there’s still about fifteen! For once my sewing machine managed to stitch all fifteen without throwing a wobbly! I managed to find some shell buttons exactly the right size in my stash and I even had enough! I wasn’t sure about the colour as they are a different shade of purple to the flowers in the dress. The alternative was trying to match buttons on the internet which I never have much success with so I decided to go with the ones from my stash. Once I tried the dress on I was more than happy with the buttons as they just disappear amongst the flowers.
I love the dress, I think the fabric is glorious, it makes me smile! It’s lovely to wear too, just the right amount of fitting and a flowing skirt. With hindsight I could have left the bow off the back of the dress as it is lost in all the flowers. The pattern is perfect for slightly heavier, crisper fabrics, I’m sure I’ll be making another Bluett.
thecraftycreek 
lovely dress, and what a great birthday photo. Love the cake too ^^
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Thanks Claire, I had a lovely time.
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Happy Retirement! You will never be bored!! Happy Birthday too…your dress wa perfect for a garden party!
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Thank you, I think you’re right there, I’ve too many things I want to do!
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Perfect material for a wonderful dress to celebrate in. Happy Birthday and Happy retirement 🙂
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Thanks Sharon, I had a great time.
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Beautiful! I bought a bursting full of colours dress for my 60th birthday so much fun! My Granddaughters love it and ask me to wear it every birthday 💗
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Thank you, I love the colours in this dress.
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beautiful dress!
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Thanks, I enjoyed wearing it.
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A lovely dress! And I am glad the weather wasn’t too unkind for youir party.
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Thank you, we were very lucky with the weather, it was much better than the forecast!
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Your dress is truly beautiful.
Congrats on celebrating your big birthday in such style.
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Thanks Mariss, I had a great time
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It looks great! And the buttons are a perfect match (and “from stash” is the perfect price.)
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Thank you, I was surprised I had enough of one button in my stash!
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It’s lovely and congratulations on your retirement
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Thank you
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You look beautiful Margaret!
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Thank you, I felt nice in the dress!
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A wonderful dress! Happy Birthday and congratulations on your retirement!
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Thanks Ruth, I had a lovely time and I’m certainly enjoying retirement!
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Gorgeous fabric, pretty dress! I very slightly prefer the green background, but the white is perfectly lovely too. I hope you had a wonderful day. I found turning 60 a few years ago to be very liberating!
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Thanks Kate, I preferred the green background too, I just couldn’t find it on line, it’s probably a couple of years since I bought it. If I find it at one of the shows I’ll probably be tempted to buy some for another dress! I had a lovely time. I think I’ll find it quite liberating too!
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Margaret it’s a lovely dress and I love the backgrounds in the photos! Happy Birthday!
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Thank you, the photo wall is in our dining area
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Lovely dress – you are talented!
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Thanks Tierney, I’m pleased with it.
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That print has made such a pretty summer dress, it’s lovely.
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Thank you, it’s a very summery dress, lovely to wear.
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Happy Birthday, Margaret! Lovely dress, and lovely, very appropriate cake! Xxx
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Thanks Lorraine, I had a lovely time.
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Happy birthday and happy retirement! I’ve been a reader for a while but your milestones impelled me to comment and wish you many happy returns. I came across your blog a few years ago when planning a trip to Yorkshire. Thanks to you, I discovered Luna Lapin and all of her friends at CoolCrafting!
Beautiful cake, beautiful dress! As always, I’m so impressed with everything you do!
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Hi Darcie, Thanks for your lovely comments. Hope you enjoyed Yorkshire and Cumbria! Luna Lapin is quite addictive and has a lovely little community on facebook.
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Lovely dress!! Such a nice floral pattern
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Gorgeous dress, hope you had a fab party
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I am late to the party, but I still want to say happy birthday and happy retirement, Margaret! I love the dress and you look gorgeous! 🙂
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