The Barenaked Collection: Boomerang

This is my second project in the Barenaked Collection, and I'm giving up on the majority of the puns. The dress is the second of the two projects I had to complete in One Week. Though that was six weeks ago, how time flies!

Know that it's named for the newest BNL single because it's cheerful, summery and because of the line 'despite the pretty dress and curls, you don't throw like other girls'. (Obviously, I throw like an old man.). I'm working my way through Grinning Streak at the moment, so do expect further Barenaked pun outfits in the future (obviously have to make something fabulous to wear when they next tour the UK!)

Anyway! So the dress is based on the Burdastyle 02/2013 Paule Ka dress. I'm a bit mad for cowls and this one was really striking, if a little too pristine in the original style. I traced a 34 on top, moving out to a 36 below the waist. Apart from adding short kimono sleeves and moving the zip to the side seam, I didn't make any pattern adjustments. This was more a case of being stubborn and flying blind rather than a question of good fit.

I began tracing the pattern during a power cut and after struggling to see the green lines by the light of a Glade scented candle, decided it wasn't worth it. Once the pattern was finally traced, the structure of the dress took about a day to come together. Most of that time was spent trying to figure out the instructions for the drapes at the neckline, they're not clear at all (thanks burda) and I ended up basing the pleats on another blogger's photos. They ended up pressing really nicely.

Don't tell anyone but I was furiously finishing this on the train, getting the hem in a muddle and taking 2 hours to insert the zip by hand. It definitely looks better than my other invisible zips (that almost sounds like an oxymoron) so definitely shows that practice is paying off.

The dress is made from blue linen from Goldhawk Road and lined in a light silk (for some reason I'm convinced it's a habutai). I love both of these fabrics. The linen is really spongy which makes any drapey effects look quite funky. I was keen to have an outer with a visible but subtle weave to show off the bias/drape area. Plus, M&S says blue linen is in this summer. The silk has an amazing mix of green and black threads. The whole dress does crease like a bugger though.

The dress has held up well during its first outing, but I've stressed the lining seams a little bit and will have to go back to them in the future to mend them. I also need to make a proper sash and bow/flower for the dress too. 

I've used a scrap of lining that works well as a colour, but I'd like to come back to it and make a few possible options. The original idea was a tulle/netting sash with an oversized flower to rival the front drape and break up all of the blue. Plus, the change in texture is really interesting and might let the cowl be pinned in different directions, like you can see above.

So there are definitely a couple of things to revisit, and I definitely need to wear this more often! Any suggestions for sash options?