I love Liberty Art Fabrics. All kinds. All prints. All qualities. I have quite a stash of tana lawn and some wool, but I’ve never handled any of their silks. Until DD1 set eyes upon this dress from Burda’s February 2013 issue. 
It’s called the “City Dress”, and DD1 liked it because it’s modeled in red. After hunting through my stash and going back and forth about the fabric, I noticed Burda mentioned Liberty as the fabric source. So I searched through Shaukat, which their website claims is the largest stockist of Liberty fabrics in London. Well, they had the design, Xanthe Sunbeam, in the red colourway, but in a satin crepe de chine. I decided to splurge for my DD, and I don’t regret it. It’s a gorgeous tightly woven silk with the most delicious hand. There’s even a little left over for a top or blouse.
I went down to my local Mokuba to look for the petersham trim, and was shocked at the price per yard. Five to six dollars per yard for petersham ribbon? Does anyone else think that’s absurd? I decided I could order rolls by t
he time I purchased the almost 3 yards required for this dress in the selection of colours I wanted to have from which DD could choose. So I bought a collection of reds-pinks-purples from TheSewingPlace, which were a lot more reasonably priced, even with the shipping, than paying what the local brick & mortar store wanted per yard. What can I say? I enjoy being a personal shopper for my kids. 🙂 Besides, multiple choices mean more stash. *smug wink*
I cut a straight size 38, and made no changes since the dress is so loose-fitting. Except for that 3-inches-from-the-waist deep front slit. Burda suggested putting a hook & eye closure at the top, and then again 5 inches down – probably about bust point level. I cut and finished the slit as prescribed, since it’s a design feature. See? It’s open clear to the waistline. 
Then I added a strip of fabric behind the slit for modesty and decency’s sake. Besides, wearing a slip or camisole under this would not be DD1’s style.
And I lined the skirt. Because lining skirts is, imho, the proper way to make a skirt. Linings make a garment modest to wear, ensure the garment hangs well, and contribute to a long life of happy wearing. Besides, who wants to wear a silk crepe de chine dress that’s unlined in the skirt? And, like I mentioned above, slips are not a first choice. 
The lining is rayon bemberg from stash. Not quite a good match, but it’s close enough to do the job. All the seams are sewn as French seams to keep things neat and tidy.
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Mezzo Couture 
So so pretty – it’s a perfect colour combination for her, and I love those romantic sleeves; I’ve always wished I could wear that style but I think you have to be a dainty curly-haired lass like your DD1 ^_^
And yes, petersham is ridiculous… last time I looked for it at Fabricland I almost lost my lunch when I saw the price 😛
What a beautiful daughter in a beautiful dress! Thanks for the source for the Petersham. I can’t find true Petersham anywhere locally.
Oh dear people keep making things I have languishing as UFOs, I have a half made version of this somewhere, I forget why I stalled on it now and will have to dig it out. Yours (or rather your daughter’s!) turned out amazing, I thought the first dressform photo was from the magazine!
Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Georgeous. I am curious – does this Liberty silk require dry cleaning? I’ve had one liberty silk/cotton, and the colours in it ran when I test washed a swatch (it said dry clean only on the label when I bought it).
Actually I’ve been eyeing this exact Liberty print in jersey form (from the shaukat website too) but have resisted purchasing because, well, I just don’t trust stretch fabrics.
Couldn’t agree more about it being the ‘right’ thing to line a skirt. It doesn’t feel/look right without it!
I’m always a little wistful of you northern hemisphere-ers’ photos in the snow… so pretty 🙂
I threw this into the washer and dryer prior to cutting it, hoping it would get that washed silk look and take some of the shiny away, but nothing. No colours ran and the hand didn’t change at all. I’m thoroughly amazed at the quality of this silk. I have never handled such tightly woven, fluid silk satin crepe de chine. It’s hard to describe: kind of like comparing Liberty tana lawn to other cotton lawns. I’m very pleased with it.
As for Liberty’s jersey – I love it. I’ve only worked with their 100% cotton jersey, but it sewed like a dream and withstood years of laundering before I finally threw it into the rag bin. I was very impressed with the quality of it.
So good to hear – I think your comments about being satisfied with how it survives will be the tipping point for me to actually buy some! Thanks 🙂
Such a pretty, feminine dress. Just beautiful. Well worth the splurge on fabric. By coincidence, I just saw some Liberty silk prints on the fabric.com web site of all places. Definitely not cheap, but there are so many I want.
I love the color, unexpected for a winter dress! Your daughter is gorgeous:) Thanks for the heads up about the petersham ribbon, too. I don’t know of a local source and have ordered some from Vogue Fabrics, but I didn’t know it came in so many colors.
What a lovely print! and the dress came out fantastic. I really like the grosgrain outline and the modesty tab, i have to remember that instead of just closing it off in the seam which is what i always do. Also thanks for the link to Shaukat, i am always looking for online shops on my side of the pond…
So clever to make that hidden modesty panel…lovely dress and it looks so expensive! I bought petersham from the same place as they had the best price and color selection.
It’s really lovely and super wearable, I am loving her boots!
So pretty! Love the fabric choice, and the way your DD has it styled. Beautiful work.
That fabric is just delicious! I’ve has this dress on my made ever since it came out but never found a fabric I liked for it. Your version is just gorgeous. And that slit fix really is clever thinking!
Such a pretty dress! I had never heard of Shaukat before, so I clicked on and learned about a whole new world of Liberty fabrics! Their prices seem reasonable also, unless I am mis-reading it, significantly lower than what I find in the US – although shipping might well wipe out any advantage in that area.
Your idea to add a strip of fabric behind the slit was great! As the mother of an almost 16 yo daughter, I completely understand that idea of “wearing a slip or camisole would not be her style” issue. I had seen that particular dress in Burda, then saw the slit and moved along. Your idea solves the problem nicely.