The 'Cocktail' dress

I went to the Great British Sewing Bee live back in late September, and what a fabulous day out it was. We attended a workshop on professional finishing techniques, where even Mum learned some new techniques, saw lots of stars of the show and were in heaven with stall after stall of beautiful fabric. I was very sensible and wrote a list of all the fabric I needed before going - and I almost stuck to it! Towards the end of the day, I spotted some amazing cocktail print cotton lawn at the Sew Me Something stall and just had to have it!

A few weeks later, I was due to celebrate a 'big' birthday and decided I needed a new dress for the many celebrations I had planned. I wasn't sure what pattern to go for, but knew it had to be made from this fabric. In the end, I decided to keep it simple with yet another Bettine Dress from Tilly and the Buttons. I had a few meals out planned and the casual style of the Bettine combined with this fabric seemed perfect for a variety of events. 

I ended up making this very last minute, so opted for the plain option without pockets or sleeve tabs. I haven't made a woven Bettine for a while (the last two were stretch), and I loved the simplicity of putting it together. It's also a while since I have sewn with cotton lawn and I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to see with (and how comfortable it is to wear). The whole thing only took an afternoon and an evening and I even had enough fabric left over to line a dark denim Agnes Bag (not blogged).

I've worn the dress four times now, and I love it!