Martine dress (I [heart] Marcel Marlier sewing series)

As soon as I sew the new sewing series introduced on Sewpony and StraightGrain blogs, I knew I would participate.

It is called I [heart] Marcel Marlier sewing series. By these series, Suz and An would like to pay tribute to a Belgian illustrator that is known worldwide especially thanks to the books about a little girl called Martine (or Tiny, Debbie etc.). These books with the adorable illustrations of the sweet little girl trying to discover the world have become the classics of the children´s literature. Even now, when Martine would become a granny in a real life, her stories are still popular. And her little dresses, skirts and tops are becoming the inspiration for the sewer-blogger community. Me too, I am one of the fans of the books about Martine (in Slovak she is called Martinka), and of course I love her outfits. I can just admire the vintage style of her dresses, modern in the 50´s when Martine was "born".

Here are just a few examples of her beautiful garments:

I got inspired by her short dresses with a Peter Pan collar. I wanted to sew something simple, classic and elegant. I´ve decided for the A-line form of dress with a large pleat on the front, and I used the lace tone in tone. This is the only decorating detail.

 Above, you can see the detail of the lace that exceeds the edges of the sleeves and of the skirt panel, as well. I think that bit of transparency adds a little romantic touch to the dress. Here is one more picture of the details:

Oh, I forgot to mention the beads. They are also in similar colour (I wanted the dress to be as simple as possible) and they are hand sewn to the dress to form the faux Peter Pan collar. I love the collars; they are so sweet, right?

There is the zipper on the back.

The dress is fully lined, so in the interior I had much handwork to do...

It has also two in-seam pockets.

I am happy with that dress, I also made my own pattern, and the size is excellent. I can proudly say that it is a unique dress, although I was inspired my Martine´s garments, it is still the dress that I designed myself. And I like it. And my daughter likes it!

It was the first time I fully lined my garment, and the first time I made the inseam pockets the right way. I wanted this dress to be perfect and I was willing to study new things. I recommend you these two books that helped me a lot, the first one to draft my pattern and the second one to realize the project.

I hope you like my dress as much as we do!

Thanks for stopping by and happy sewing!

Zuzana