A Wedding Guest Cambie/Hollyburn

I was at my niece's wedding last weekend -- and how do they so quickly grow old enough to be married? It was a lovely wedding, held at a hall alongside the Lachine Canal in Montreal, with many outdoor areas to enjoy. Beautiful setting, and a very beautiful bride.

Since it was a more casual setting, I thought that a new Cambie in a light summery print would be a great idea for my wedding guest apparel. When my husband picked up a new summer weight jacket in a light blue/grey/white colour palette, I had the perfect match for it.

Inspired by his jacket, as well as this dress on the cover of July 2015's InStyle magazine, I had been looking around for a fabric with a similar blue china-tile print. No luck. I was about to give in and just wear something I'd already made, when I came across the perfect fabric -- a very light-weight cotton-poly sheet in just the kind of blue print I'd been looking for. It was a light blue on a greyish white ground, and because the Cambie is fully lined, I knew I could use this for the fashion fabric and it would be perfectly non-see-through once the lining was in. 

I thought about using View B, with the full skirt, for this version, but as I was looking at so many reviews on PatternReview and elsewhere online, I realized I didn't really want that much fullness...so I used the Hollyburn skirt instead, inspired by CameoOfKarina's latest version. It was the first time I used the Hollyburn, but it won't be the last -- I loved it and want a couple of skirts for fall in a nice warm drapey fabric...so many ideas!

with the Canal behind us

In any case -- being the second time I've made the Cambie, the process was easier. I made more adjustments to the bodice to get it to fit more closely (though forgetting that this fabric had zero stretch in it, unlike the cotton I used for my first version, I did have to sit with very good posture all night long, haha). I took another half-inch out of the front bodice, and cut it with the square neckline rather than the sweetheart, which is usually my preference. I might go crazy and try the sweetheart option someday...but this was not the day ;)

The print was a little crooked on the sheet so despite trying to cut around that, the bodice does have some slant to it. I was really disappointed when I realized it but once it was all together and the swirly skirt pattern counterbalanced it, it wasn't actually that noticeable or annoying any longer. I carefully measured the waistband and the top of the Hollyburn to make sure they'd meet up. Since they are both Sewaholic patterns it wasn't that hard to fit them together, only needing minimal adjustment.

Hollyburn skirt with such nice cut-on pockets

I used another really, really soft white cotton sheet (also quite lightweight) for the lining, and it is so luxurious against the skin. It gave the dress just enough heft to fit smoothly, but kept the light flowy feel of both fabrics. It was quite a warm afternoon and evening on the wedding day, so the airiness of this dress was perfection. I was reminded how fantastic the technique is for installing the lining in the Cambie; so easy and so quick. The only real change I made was to gather the sleeves a little bit less and leave them a little bit wider, for more underarm area coverage, which I noticed I would like from the first version I made.

Otherwise it was a relatively fast make -- good thing, since I'd decided to start it on Monday night and had to have it done by Friday night -- while working all week. I am not a fast sewer, so that was a challenge for me! But I got it done and I loved wearing it. Felt like a perfect fit for a beautiful August wedding. 

A fun photo on the staircase...

especially when photobombed by a charming co-guest :)