After visiting the Spotlight shoot, my mum and I couldn’t wait to start coming up with new designs and the fun part – shopping for fabric! One of my favourite memories growing up was going on expeditions with my mum to Bayswater Spotlight; draping ourselves in fabric and coming home with new fabrics to play with, so naturally we headed to Bayswater to check out the new range in store.

I found this amazing tropical print fabric that I had my eye on at the shoot and then looked for a bold stripe to pair back with it. Months ago, I had saved an image of a dress by Caroline Constas, which had a similar print clash so I wanted to create my own look with this concept for Sofitel Ladies Day at Flemington.

After many hours in store, we walked out of Spotlight with 2 large bags; one with metres and metres of tulle – this outfit is still to come and the other with bright prints and a few new patterns to use throughout the carnival. We then eagerly headed back home to the sewing room to start planning out the outfit for Sofitel Ladies Day.

We went through our box of patterns and the new patterns we bought that day and opted to use a combination of two – a Simplicity ‘5259’ for the skirt and for the top, one we had made ourselves last Spring Carnival. The print placement of the fabric is then the most time consuming part for us and the most important part of the planning process especially when working with printed fabrics.  When positioned correctly, it can really make the outfit pop and stand out in the crowd so it’s definitely worth while taking your time before cutting into the fabric.

We spent 3 days on and off working on the dress and it cost approximately $70 in total to make. Making your own dress, whether it’s a simple design or a little more complex is so rewarding, as you know you have your own unique outfit and won’t run into the same person wearing your dress! We were absolutely thrilled with the result and can’t wait to start working on the next dress.

The new Spring fashion collection is available to shop online now. Have a go at making your own outfit this carnival!