Saved By A Friend

 Actually, this entire dress is thanks to a friend.  

I had a very pretty piece of green linen in my fabric closet.  I didn't remember where it came from when I originally pulled it.  Because, honestly, for years I was *afraid* of linen.  

I love my first linen hope so much, that I decided to make another.  I asked Carolyn which piece of fabric I should use and she suggested one that I wasn't quite ready to sew up.  So, I pulled this beautiful piece from the shelve.

But here's where everything went sideways.  I have this really bad habit of cutting out just the bodice and then setting it aside.  Then when I'm ready to start, I'll construct the bodice and figure out how long the skirt can be when I get there.

Well, once I got started on it, there wasn't enough fabric for a skirt of any length at all!  OH No! At this point, I sent some photos to Carolyn (which is a pretty regular part of any garment I'm making) and she commented, 'You're using my fabric!' Well, that answered the where the fabric came from.  Carolyn most likely gifted it to me to convince me to use linen.

I asked if she had more, and she did.  It was a piece where she had to purchase lots and had given away 3 yard pieces.  Way back in December, I took a day when I wasn't busy and I drove out to visit with her.  The visit was the reason for the day trip to New Jersey and the rest of the fabric was a bonus!

There are really no changes to this dress.  I had previously lowered the neckline and for this version I added inch wide elastic in the sleeve hems.

And that's about all there is to say about this Style Arc Hope Woven Dress.  The pattern is a gem.  If you haven't made it, you really should consider it!