Introducing... The Rochelle

A few weeks after the birth of her third bubba, Rochelle is going to a wedding. As many of you may know, breastfeeding in a frock presents a unique set of challenges, which Rochelle has (hopefully) managed to circumvent by ordering herself a custom P&E breastfeeding-at-a-wedding-and-still-looking-quite-glamorous-and-lovely frock.

Rochelle picked out the fabric herself - a gorgeous voile - floaty and light and perfect for a bias-cut wrap dress. As you may have noticed I am a huge fan of the bias cut on account of the fact that it makes a pretty lovely fit. The main criteria for The Rochelle were that it made it easy for her to get her milk maids out when required, and that it fit nicely, but not too nicely, so that any remaining baby-carrying lumps and bumps weren't right out there on display. The bias and the wrap combine so beautifully to achieve both of these things, and also mean that the dress will be able to be worn even after Rochelle's body goes back to normal and it isn't imperative for her boobs to be coming out all the time. Win win!

Because of the lovely floatiness of the voile I knew I needed to pull out my very special rolled-hem-making sewing-machine foot.

I (obviously) don't know what the technical name is for this thing, but crikeys is it useful in a slightly fancy don't-want-to-use-it-all-the-time kind of way. Only for special occasions, you see. On a bias cut it is especially gorgeous-making, as it somehow magically creates these beautiful, soft ruffly kind of hems,

which, teamed with the almost-a-ruffle (but not in a pirate kind of way... not that there's anything wrong with pirates...) collar, make the whole dress a bit special, and maybe even a bit fancy, without being fussy.

Perfect for the summertime when you've just had a bubba.

But the proof will be in the pudding, or perhaps more appropriately in the accessibility of the mama's milk, so we'll wait and see. I would LOVE to post a photo of Rochelle feeding her gorgeous new baby at the wedding, but of course that's up to her. Fingers crossed...