Another Bouchard Original- the Betsy

This one got a name- Betsy. I have reasons for that and I'll explain them, but first, the dress:

How fun is this fabric? I got it at a bargain price of only $3.50 per yard, so this dress including trims and notions cost me less than $20 to make! Of course, making a dress like this from start to finish is about an hour and a half to two hour long project, depending. Fitting is the hardest part, especially since I'm trying to fit the dress on myself and don't have anyone to pin the seams for me. I'm getting pretty good at it, though. I guess my point, however, is that even if the fabric is inexpensive, the cost of a garment like this is still significant in terms of the time invested.

What I like most about this dress is the back:

I knew I wanted to make another dress with the exposed zipper in the back because I think it's a really fun trend. My black & white dress has a pink zipper exposed in the back sort of like this. What's different is that this time I got a very long zipper- one that is far too long for its function. Then when I installed it, I actually continued sewing it along the back of the neckline until it curved around to the front. From there I ended up experimenting a little. At first, the zipper wrapped all the way to the front and met in the center of the neckline, but it wasn't laying perfectly and it also seemed a little dull. So I ripped it off and made these little sideways fleur-de-lis type shapes instead:

That's when I came up with the name for this dress. First of all, it's the perfect dress for a sweltering summer day, which is what it was here in PA yesterday- it was in the upper 80's and humid. It was also Derby Day, so I think I was channeling the South all day without even realizing it. Too cool off in the late afternoon, I stopped into one of my favorite watering holes and ordered a Mint Julep (in honor of the Derby). I felt like I should have been sitting on a wrap-around porch of a big plantation house. My good friend Betsy is from Louisianna and she's a huge Saints fan (they won the Superbowl this year) It seemed only fitting that I name the dress after her- it's the Southern vibe of this dress combined with the little fleur-de-lis details that made me think of her. And to top it off, she graduated from grad school this weekend, so the naming of the dress is timely as well. Congrats, Betsy!

So did you all watch the Kentucky Derby yesterday? It was an exciting race! Well, I'm off to go get ready for church. Have a great Sunday everyone!