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3.09.2017

The Polina Dress

When my friend Olga from Coffee and Thread showed me the sketch for her upcoming pattern, the Polina dress, I immediately couldn't wait to sew it.  It was love at first sight!


She was in the testing phase and I told her if she needed another tester - wink wink, nudge nudge - I'd love to make this dress. She sent the pattern over and the rest is history.


I knew I wanted to make my first version (because there will definitely be more versions!) of this dress in a Kaufman Swiss dot chambray.  It has that vintage nostalgic feel that I love so much.


I was definitely feeling the vintage/nostalgia vibes when I saw this version of the back of the dress on Olga's IG page.  I texted Olga and told her I wanted the back of my dress to look exactly like it.  She told me that was the circle skirt + flared ties options. :D


In my nearly 9 years of sewing dresses, I had never sewn flared ties before.  They are so awesome! I'm so glad Olga added them as one of her options.


Olga suggests interfacing the neckline and armholes, which was another thing I had never done before.  It gave the dress a nice stability, especially given this particular chambray is so lightweight.


The light(er)weight fabric worked so well with the circle skirt and ruffle options of this dress.  I was so happy with this fabric. Also it is a steal for the price!


I had previously not been much of a fan of circle skirts, but I have decidedly changed my mind.  In the past, I felt the circle skirts I've cut were too flared for me.  Maybe I just used the wrong type of fabric, like a quilting cotton without much drape.  In any event, I love this skirt so much.  I would definitely choose it again!


I really liked the way the back of the dress closes with buttons versus an invisible zipper.  To me, it suits the overall style perfectly.  It was interesting, too, that the buttonholes are placed vertically.  I like that feature.


Mie from Sewing Like Mad told me that you always place your button shank in the same direction as the buttonhole.  Makes sense, right?  So I placed the button shanks vertically as well.

I'll close out this post with a couple of sister shots.  Iris is so physically affectionate - she loves kisses, hugs and cuddles and is effervescent in everything she does.



Let's just say that physical touch is not one of Tia's love languages, although Tia, of course, shows her love in other equally meaningful ways.  I feel like this photo perfectly captures the way Tia tolerates Iris' hugs.  Haha


 Then she quickly slinked out from under Iris' embrace and was off and running again!



The Polina pattern will be available for purchase on Monday from the Coffee and Thread shop here for those of you who are interested!


21 comments:

  1. The dress is stunning, Rachel! I can't get over the fact that my humble pattern was used to make such a gorgeous dress. And your pictures are just sooo beautiful. Thank you so much, my friend!

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  2. Beautiful dress! Your sewing skills and styles along with your photography are ALWAYS so beautiful!
    This pattern looks really fun, I've seen some versions where the ruffle goes towards the neck rather than down and that looks so neat too.

    Always enjoy your posts Rachel, thanks for sharing. 😀

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  3. Aw so cute!! Love the photos and Tia's face with Iris' hug - my big girls are a bit like that at school when Emily hugs them goodbye!!! Love the dress in this fabric and perfectly twirly! You must have a great landscape near home - your photos are always lovely!

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  4. What a gorgeous dress! I love this dress from the moment I say it. And your pictures are stunning. You did An amazing job!!!

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  5. Absolutely stunning! All of it!

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  6. I love a buttoned-back dress too. The last few I've made have been zippered but button backs are so pretty. The dress suits Iris and I love her hair style!

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  7. Although there is loads of gorgeousness on your blog, this is my favorite make so far! So very pretty <3

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  8. This pattern has my name written all over it!!!! I mean, who am I kidding? Just take my money! Can't wait! Your version is stunning and very "vintage nostalgic" with the flared ties and chambray. So pretty!!! I've done flared ties for vintage patterns before, so fun! A very sweet little vintage detail.

    Tia, I'm with you. A little awkward being hugged, but I show my love in other ways! (I'm very physically affectionate with my children and family, but not a "hugger" in other settings!) LOL!!

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  9. I'll take a button placket over a zipper any day! I stick a button placket of some sort onto nearly every shirt I sew for myself. And last time I upholstered my couches, I decided to use buttons to close the cushion covers instead of zipper! Lol! I also always do my buttonholes vertically, because I think it looks nicer, but didn't know about putting buttons vertically as well. Thanks for the tip. The dress is beautiful, and your photos are beautiful as well, as always. 😊

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    1. First, that is so awesome that you upholstered your couch!

      I had previously always done buttonholes horizontally, but I agree with you - I really like the vertical look!

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  10. Such a lovely version of the Polina dress! I really love this one, such a perfect match between fabric and pattern. And as always such beautiful stories and pictures!

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  11. Lovely! Just lovely!
    And I have to say I like the idea that Iris can be mildly annoying even when she's being adoring. Go girl!

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  12. hahaha sisters, gotta love them :) OK I don't know what it is like to have a sister as I have a brother... but I have two sisters under one roof with me and watching them is so much fun! I love the dress you have made. I hate gathering fabric, so circle skirts are my new fave. I'd rather hem metres of fabric than gather it!

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    1. Hmmm - I never thought about it that way - hemming vs gathering. Hemming a circle skirt is not the most fun, but I would still say I prefer it to gathering! :D

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  13. First of all this is jaw dropping beautiful...the photos, the dress, the everything! Second thanks for the shout out! Mie from Sewing Like Mad also told you about always making your buttonholes vertical when they are done in a vertical placket plus to ALWAYS interface your woven fabric necklines and arm openings (unless a sleeve is sewn in). I cannot believe this is your first time doing that hahahaha (you know I'm mostly kidding, right ;-) And bonus point to Olga for suggesting all these great sewing advices in her patterns!

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  14. Wow this dress is stunning. You've done am sending job capturing that nostalgic vintage feel both in the dress and picture.

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  15. oh la la Rachel, this dress is just so perfectly vintage looking! and don't even get me started on the beauty of your children....

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  16. I am trying very hard NOT to buy patterns but I think I may have too. As Inder says, the vintage feel is over whelming-ly beautiful,I just want to sew one.

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