A Stitching Odyssey: Dakota Sewalong - Inspiration

I have a Tuesday-morning, Dakota Sewalong confession friends! When Rachel and I decided to do this, the plan was to share our finished Dakotas or two, to entice you to take part. Genius, right? Rachel kept her end of the bargain - you'll be blown away by her Winter Dakota in ponte knit - but the house move scuppered my plans unfortunately :o( So instead, I'm going to share my inspiration for my Dakota-in-progress.

Dakota is actually a far cry from my usual style, but the luscious green fabric and Autumn styling beckoned me. As you know, I'm not really a solid colour kind of girl, so it was a revelation to me - especially when the urge to recreate an almost identically chic version took over.

So, I set out to find suitable fabric with excellent advice from Vicki at Minerva Crafts, who has also generously supplied our fabrics. I settled on the most gorgeous Prada satin-backed crepe in a deep teal, which is unlike any other crepe I've encountered. It feels divine, is a dream to sew with and is the most incredible shade of teal (which pictures don't do justice to)! If you like what you read/see, the great news is that it's available in a range of delicious colours. 

I then turned my attention to what I might wear underneath my Dakota for dignity's sake. I loved Named's super smart styling with a blouse and realised I had just the ticket in my wardrobe - a white blouse from M&S with tiny black polka dots and small leopard heads! It's the perfect match for my Dakota, breaking up the solid colour and adding an edgy element. 

I just hope my vision turns out as glorious in practice!

Have you chosen your Dakota fabric yet? I'd love to have a snoop! If you're struggling, tune in tomorrow and Thursday for some great tips from Vicki.

If you still need some convincing that the Dakota Dress is for you, just check out Rachel's inspiration post.