Cut and dried - wildflower tea towel dress!

I'm not sure when I first started thinking about making a teatowel dress.  I do tend to overthink projects!

An outing to Toowoomba provided a deadline - cos Erin and I were going to see a display of vintage tea towels.

The Qld State Library exhibited the tea towels last year but I missed seeing them, so was keen to made good on the second-chance opportunity.

I like to find op-shop bargains and had picked up several wildflower tea towels in semi-recent times, all since moving to Queensland.  Of course, they were then considered too pretty for day-to-day use!  One lined our road-trip breakfast basket and I took others on picnics.

I found a second WA tea towel last year, at least two years after scoring the first. It wasn't till I compared the two of them at home that I realised they were the same print with different coloured borders! 

That pair and another two also featuring Australian wildflowers were all only $2.00 or $3.00 each. 

The Sturt desert pea fabric was also opped, formerly a $7.00 dress (far too large for me but bought so I could re-use the fabric).  In total, the materials for the dress cost around $15.00. 

I also used some of the Sturt desert pea fabric along with a $2.00 former potholder to create a simple zip pouch. I had thought to use it as a clutch but it's a bit larger than intended, so may serve an alternate purpose.

I based the teatowel dress "design" loosely upon my green linen dress (a $6.00 opshop find) that I like wearing.  

That dress is super comfortable for travelling and I wanted to make a few more for a big trip later this year.

The green linen dress has one panel at the back and two at the front, so as to create a v-neckline.

My initial thought had been to make the tea towel dress in four long panels, following a free tutorial.  However I would have lost too much detail from the prints if I'd continued that idea.  

In the first collage, Erin is laughing cos her original suggestion of two panels is what I eventually went with!

I chose to make each panel the same, without bust darts, so I can wear either side as the front. 

I left the original hems on the tops of two WA teatowels, which became shoulder seams.  I left one of the original care labels in place, also.  

I chose not to treat the sleeve edges, prefering to leave them as they had been originally.

Erin had scored a 50c remnant of wildflower fabric at some point.  I used that to extend the length of both panels, so the hem folded just at the bottom of each lower tea towel, leaving all printing intact.

I made several bias strips from the desert pea fabric and joined those, so as to bind the round neckline.  

Unfortunately I cut the neckline a little deep, so then needed to raise the shoulder seams a little.  If I make another dress, I'll use a smaller cut-out.

I'd altered my bargain green linen dress to have some shape at the waist area, which was more flattering for me.  I used those alterations as a guide to curve the waist of my wildflower dress.  It's a smoother curve and works well.

I was so very chuffed with the end result, simple as it might be.  I wore it to the teatowel exhibition (and a few times since).  

I've received some beautiful compliments, which then prompted lots of fun discussion with several wonderful women.  One lady talked about her teatowel dress creations - and we laughed hugely about her many childhood moves with her mother's spoon collection!

My red handbag is another opshop score, a bowls bag by the same maker as my picnic case. The wildflower scarf was opped and the desert pea brooch a surprise gift from a lovely friend.