Cherry Blossoms in Autumn

Here's my latest dress in tribute to cherry blossom season in Japan. As the other side of the world gears up for Spring, there's a chill in the air here as we head into Autumn and the summer dresses get packed away. I'm desperately clinging onto the warmth of summer before I spend the next 6 months in jeans and jumpers. I know some people love the winter months - wrapping up in woollens, boots and coats but give me a pretty summer frock, blue skies and sunshine any day.

I bought this pretty cherry blossom print cotton on my last visit to Japan and paired it with New Look 6002. The pattern comes with 3 different bodice and waistband variations. I made View B with a plain waistband.

I had previously used View C for the bodice of my Flamingo Frankenpattern dress. Even though I had made this before I still did a toile as I wanted to make sure the skirt fitted properly and I was using a different view for the bodice. I sewed the size 10 and amazingly the only adjustment I had to make was a small tuck on each side of the back neckline to stop some gaping. I don't know if this has ever happened before but it's a cause for celebration as too many fitting issues does my head in - Hoorah!

The skirt has pleats at the front which I wasn't too sure about but it's actually quite flattering and it certainly makes it very comfortable to wear. The pattern has instructions for lining the bodice and waistband but I also lined the skirt. I love the scalloped neckline too and it was joy to sew as it just came together really easily.

Well, it may not be Spring here, and I may not be in Japan, but I can put on my cherry blossom dress and pretend!