"Laura Ashley" dress Pattern: My own -- based on a hand-me-down Laura Ashley dress that my Aunt Joanna bought on one of her trips to England years ago (not sure, but I think it's late-'80s or early-'90s). Fabric: light blue and white printed cotton; blue cotton bias trim around neckline and sleeve holes Construction Notes: The dress that this pattern is based off of is a simple sundress that is very figure-flattering. :) It has a princess-seamed bodice and seven gores in the (very full) skirt, with an invisible zipper running up the back. Miscellaneous Ramblings: A year ago I got the idea to make a dress out of a toile-print fabric, but I had a hard time finding any that was not upholstery-weight (or else the toile print was too small). Unbeknownst to me, my friend Emily's mother Rhonda got the same idea at the same time, and she made up a sundress for Emily using a light cotton toile she found at Denver Fabrics! I didn't want to use the same fabric as Emily's dress, but I just could not find anything else that was suitable. A few weeks ago I spied this fabric at the local quilting shop, and I thought it was sort of "toile-ish," so I decided to go for it! This also gave me a good excuse to trace a pattern from a lovely Laura Ashley sundress my Aunt Joanna gave me. For some reason, this version is not as fitted at the waist as the "real" dress, but I decided to leave it that way to make it a little more comfortable. I had to take in the gores a little because the fabric I chose was only 45" wide to begin with, but even so, the skirt is very full! I love this dress... it's so pretty and feminine! The photos are from Mother's Day -- May 14, 2006. My mom likes the last picture, in which Emily and I are giving the camera our best coy glances. :) back