Don, Cam, Neva, Elbe, Thames. What do these rivers have in common? I’ve lived near all of them! I absolutely love cities with a lot of water. I love standing on a bridge watching the boats – from punts on the Cam to the container ships on the Elbe. I love thinking about how long people have been sailing for, how important the rivers were and still are to our cities. Romantic, eh? It shouldn’t surprise you, then, that I love a little nautical style.
You’ve seen this pattern before, right here on this blog, in fact, made up in an African wax print. It’s a Simple Sew Zoe dress, and not only is this the second time you’ve seen it, but it won’t be the last – I’ve made five dresses and one top from the pattern already.
I love the pattern, and perhaps best of all, I got it for free with Sew Now magazine. You can read all about that and my thoughts on the pattern in the post I linked above. The only alterations for this version were an FBA (standard…) and taking out the seam allowance so I could cut the dress pieces on the fold and avoid a centre seam – I didn’t fancy trying to match up those ships.
Which brings us neatly to the fabric. Isn’t it beautiful? I got it maybe a year and a half ago, from Esburger Fabrics, a small shop in Chesterfield. I recommend it if you’re in the area – I think this was £8 a metre and they had a lot of lovely printed cottons. It definitely has at least some linen content – and it sure does wrinkle. I feel it’s a small price to pay for that colour and print, though!
These were taken on a beautiful sunny day in July, and those of you who know London well might recognise the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. I must admit to not having spent any time in the museum that day – my friends and I had to secure a picnic spot before our prosecco got warm – but Greenwich is sure high on my list of places to have a proper look around. It has ships, for a start, and beautiful narrow streets with enticing independent shops. Plus I’ve heard you can get a mean brunch – and if there’s one thing I love more than watching ships, it’s watching ships and eating hash browns.
