Handmade Perfection

This time, a fortnight ago, I was a little bit narked.  See, I had this amazing Beatrix Potter duvet cover.  Char had a pattern for a frock that we knew fitted me and looked nice.  Ideal combination, so you would think.  Well you would be wrong.  Could we turn said duvet cover into said frock?  No.  There was not enough fabric to make the skirt.  I may have sworn a bit.  Ok, a lot.  But all was not lost as we made this frock with it instead (and although it may come across otherwise in that blog post, I actually did do quite a lot of the sewing of it!).

In fact, all was very far from lost.  A quick look through the fabric stash turned up something else.

 My charity shop trips always include a good rummage in the bedding/fabric section.  Most of what you'll find in there is not good - hideous old curtains and bobbly duvet covers abound - but the odd gem can be found, and it can usually be turned into something else.  I am yet to discover any Wombles bedding (this is probably a good thing as I may implode with excitement if I do) but a couple of things have come close.  Victoria Plum anyone?

I still love the fact that Angela Rippon wrote the Victoria Plum books.  Delightfully random.  They're one of those almost-forgotten things from my childhood, so when I discovered a ginormous duvet cover covered in Victoria Plum, robins and bunnies, I was rather pleased.  I was even more pleased when Char decided to take it away with her and turn it into a frock for me. A frock of sheer glory.  With POCKETS and A BOW and A BIG SWIRLY SKIRT.

Is she not amazing?  I bloody love that girl.

Dress - made by Char. Did I mention she's amazing?

Cardi - New Look

Shoes - Irregular Choice, present

ETA - Pattern update! It's Simplicity 2444, and is the little pencil sketch version on the left of the packet, with a few teensy tweaks.