Of course most summers include a mix of things worn but do you end up with one or two outfits that you want to wear to everything. Which then means you rack your brain to recall what you were wearing the last time you saw certain friends. Can you get away with wearing the same exact thing? Not the most important issue in the world but for us who sew our wardrobe then variety is part of the package.
Which means that my social circle should learn to distinguish between all my denim dresses, because soon there will be at least four. And all fairly distinct - especially this one, entirely due to this fantastic fabric.
This is a lightweight denim which is not exactly eyelet but I don't know what else to call it. It has lots of small holes which are a tiny bit frayed that give it a soft feel. Also it is tie-dyed? or somehow dyed with a variegated color so all in all an unusual fabric. That I found last summer at Stone Mountain in Berkeley. If you are quick it looks like they have it listed on their website here. They call the color a marbled bleach effect and that sounds right. Last summer I made a skirt out of this fabric for my friend Alice, see that here.
I've been trying to branch out and wear different silhouettes. The "unfitted" dress is one that I see on so many people - what is the right name for this style of dress? Meaning something without a defined waist, less fitted than other styles. Sometimes they are called sack dresses, or maybe a shift dress? or a cocoon dress? I guess it depends on if the column is straight, or perhaps A-line. And then the cocoon dresses often have a subtle narrowing at the hemline. Last year I tried a Burda style dress, (here's the post) and I didn't like that one, mostly due to fabric choice and maybe the shape.
But this one is more of an A-line shift style dress and feels really good to wear. And it has built in ventilation for our hot weather :).
Here's the dress form view so you can see the silhouette.
I did make a few changes to the pattern. Pockets! of course. A dress with this shape and utility needs pockets - and it is an easy thing to add. I have a pocket pattern piece of cardboard which I use for any pattern that doesn't have pockets, and sew them on the side seams about 1" below wherever the waistline is marked on the pattern. It works out well. If you are trying to figure out where to add pockets on a dress, try it on and put your hand where you would normally reach into a pocket, then mark the center of that spot with a pin. I think a pocket opening of about 4.5 - 5" seems about right, so place your pocket pieces centered over the pin and you should be good. To go with this fabric for the pockets I used some scraps of bemberg rayon lining in navy blue. Also I add a bit on the side seam, particularly of the back dress piece so the pocket lining will not show.
Good thing patterns have technical drawings and other info because based solely on that example of the orange top and brown skirt I would have passed this pattern by. Yuck - I just don't like brown very much or brown/orange combos. Looks good on very few people. (caveat - there are some who look very good in this color combo - I can think of a couple of redheads who can wear this and look very pretty).
Here's the technical drawing for this pattern. I bought it and made a skirt sample for my class at Hello Stitch, and ended up recommending it as one of the skirt patterns for the class. Interestingly enough so far everyone has chosen this skirt and it is really cute! The first week we were looking at the pattern and spoke about how the top had potential - and maybe even the dress. That's why I decided to sew it up, just for fun and to show people at the studio how it looked.
The dress/top has bands on the sleeve edges, which are kind of wide - around 2", I did cut them out and baste them on, but they seemed kind of wide and also felt a bit constricting. Actually they would feel better if cut on the bias which they are not. Anyway - I decided it made the sleeves too long, I liked it better with more of a cap sleeve look. So the sleeves are just double turned and stitched. The neckline has a bias cut binding.
The center dart is just about the only design feature on this and adds a bit of shaping. I figured that the darts need to match so I measured them to make sure I sewed the length of each dart equally. I hadn't so I went back to make sure they were.
But in this fabric they don't even show.
Changing up the shoes for a different look - not my fav with these coral clogs, I like it better with my slip on sneakers. And I do have to say that I get a faint impression of mid-50's housedress with this style. I guess it's important to maintain a 21st century attitude (with cell phone and coffee in hand at all times) in order to look modern.
That's the scoop on my latest denim obsession. Here's a sneak peek on my Instagram of the next denim in my sewing queue.
OK - gotta run. Last week I bought some more plants at the junior college horticultural department end of semester plant sale and they have been sitting on the front porch. I just have to find a good location.
Happy weekend sewing,
Beth
Today's garden photo, a rose that I thought was is called Lipstick but now I'm not sure. I'll have to look in my gardening binder - which sounds more organized that it is. Actually a 3-ring binder where I chuck in all the tags, labels, receipts and articles that go with stuff I buy or accumulate. Anyway what a color!
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