Inspiration ideas #1

I am a very easily distractable person, and often have an idea, but forget it and move onto something else before the idea is fully formed and recorded anywhere.  I want to start recording these inspirations, so that one day I can (possibly) go back to them and do something with them.  I have many fleeting fancies with project ideas, mainly pretty dresses, and want to show you what I’m currently inspired by. 

Recently I saw the dress below in Dorothy Perkins:

I totally loved the lemon print fabric, yellow is not a colour I usually go for but this print was so summery and kitsch I though it looked fab. 

I’ve seen similar style prints around recently but the Dorothy Perkins dress was my favourite in terms of the style of the dress.

Dresses from South, Primark & New Look

I tried the Dorothy Perkins dress on but (bizarrely in my case) the waist was a bit too tight and the bust was waay too big!  So it’s something I can’t buy, and I already own a few patterns I could use to make a dress like this myself.

The first is New Look 6557.  

I’ve made view B before but was thinking of maybe using view C or E instead.  However I’m not a massive fan of the waist band on this dress as I really like the matching waist and hem bands on the DP dress.

Next option is McCall's 6011,view C wthout sleeves.

This is better terms of waistband, and I’m sure I could figure out how to add a band on the skirt too.  Plus this dress is lined which is better if the fabric is going to be white / pale.

And the wildcard entry is Vogue 8184, view B (which is incidentally the first sewing pattern I ever bought). 

This doesn't have a wiastband but I think the structured bodice, which calls for boning, could work really well with a big bold print. 

The next question is fabric.  Where would I find a fabric like this?  Anyone got any ideas, apart from scouring ebay for something similar (I’ve already googled “lemon print fabric” and “fruit print fabric” with little success).