Malphi: Frills, Frocks & Fancies!

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Bluebells...

It's bluebell time in the woods so what better apron to wear than a Flower Pickin' Pinny!

The bluebell season is so short I missed it last year. 

This is one of my favourite aprons.  It's made from a linen/viscose mix fabric which has a nice swingy weight to it and texture.

I tea-stained the lace at the bottom as it was a bit bright in order to make it blend better with the coffee ribbon which I threaded through the lace.

And of course we didn't pick any of the bluebells!

Going green...

My next wrap dress is made from corduroy.  I bought a couple of metres of it from a craft exhibition in London about six months ago and fell in love with it instantly.

Here's a close up...

Like my other recent wrap dresses, I also had this one made up in India. 

Underneath I'm wearing a net petticoat.  I bought some vintage lace from a small shop near to where I live and already had some matching cream netting so the two went together perfectly.  I didn't have a pattern so simply cut around a strappy sun top for the shape and size and then extended the skirt out in an A-line.  The frill is doubled to add extra fullness.

Perfect dress for a walk through the woods....

"The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration."
Claude Monet

Mother and daughter...

This wrap dress that I had made up in India fits my Mother so beautifully I asked her to model it.

The placement of the darts (as in all the Verity Hope wrap dresses) produces a truly flattering shape.

The fabric is cotton but also has a very small amount of lycra in it.  I love the tiny red flowers against the custard yellow.

I tried the dress on, but as you can see it definitely looks better on a fuller figure!

Here it is on me from the back...

Pink gingham

I'd had these dress pieces lying around for absolutely ages.  I'd cut them out about eighteen months ago to sell as kits but had become side tracked with other projects.  I've been sewing so much myself lately (on my new industrial Bernina 950!) so a trip to beloved India provided the perfect opportunity to have them made up by the marvelous local tailors I know.

I had four dresses made up in two different sizes.  The fabric is a pink cotton/poly gingham and has a nice weighty swing to it.

There's something about gingham, especially pink gingham...one is never too old to play!!

The kingfisher silk route...

I've recently come back from India and couldn't resist getting some of my wrap dresses made up while I was out there.  The local Indian Tailors I know are amazing.  They don't use patterns, instead they chalk the design straight onto the fabric. 

This is a wrap dress I had made out of silk dupion.  They have so many stunning colours to choose from and this shimmering kingfisher blue caught my eye...

I absolutely adore the colours raw silk comes in and if it were machine washable I'd use it all the time...but hey,what's a bit of dry cleaning once in a while!

I also have this dress made up in a deep red dupion which I'll show off at a later date.

"Oh! roses and lilies are fair to see, but the wild bluebell is the flower for me."
Louisa A. Meredith.