On A Stick?

Nope - on a person.  Sorry - bad joke. 

So this is the Dianne made maxi.  JB still says it looks like a muu muu.  Come to find out - it's the fabric he doesn't like.  The fabric is a paisley silky from the fake fabric store.  But I saw it and fell in love and I knew it wanted to be a maxi.

I lined the entire dress in a very soft cotton.  To do this - I just cute the dress twice.  In the bodice, I used the 'lining' as facings and changed the construction order so that all the edges are finished and inside the dress.  The two skirts hang free of each other.

You can't really see it here - but I changed the ribbon to 2 small green ribbons.  They matched better than the huge bring pink ribbon - which was a dead match for the pink in the fabric, but really stood out and yelled - hey!  Look at me. 

In the top photo, I am leaning back and thrusting my stomach forward.  I got 7 chances to get a decent photo.  JB is not very patient while taking photos.  He doesn't understand.  Oh well.  Would be nice if I could get him to take some time so maybe I could forget he's snapping. 

This dress was comfortable and easy to wear.  It wasn't too hot (which I was afraid of with the silky fabric and full lining).  And surprisingly, while I was concerned with the muu muu comment - I felt pretty all day. 

Win / Win.  Right? 

Wasted Afternoon?

 So finally - I got a chance to sew something again.  I have had this Sew Serendipity pattern on my cutting table, cut out for a couple weeks now.  I got the bodice put together and then got sidetracked by ring pillows, wedding presents, and various other sewing projects of the crafty variety.

I wanted to try this pattern before cutting into some of my prettier quilting cottons I bought for summer dressed.  The main fabric is a swiss dot that I picked up at hancock last month.  Not that you can see it, but the midriff band is a pink spotted quilting cotton.  I wasn't going to put the bottom band on the dress, but it was short without it!
I traced the pattern with no alternations other than grading between sizes.   I put the bodice together - it's completely lined with white batiste because the swiss dots are very sheer.  Once I had the bodice together, I freaked out a bit, this dress has not opening other than the cross over v neck.  I figured I wouldn't be able to get into it. 

The midriff band is a bit high and it's not level round my body, so I need to alter that before cutting it again. 

The bottom band is a quilting cotton that was in the cupboard, not sure what it was bought for, but I know it wasn't a summer dress.

The dress was cool and comfortable to wear and I think with some minor alterations I'll make a few more.  Although I really want to jump on the Vogue 1250 bandwagon, I even have the pattern and fabric ready to go. 

 

Dress #2

Last weekend, I managed to finish not 1, but 2 dresses.  It honestly takes me for-freakin-ever to get anything finished.  The last dress took me almost the entire month of June.  This one took 2 weekends.  I don't sew during the week - I work, cook dinner, walk dogs and knit.


This is the second version of the Monique Dress.  This version is fully lined and made from a much, much softer cotton than the first version.


I lengthened the front bodice this time so the waist band is level all around.  The lining has an a-line skirt rather than the full, gathered skirt.


Again - I used just one fabric but I do have several 2 fabric versions all ready to go on the cutting table.  However, to "spice" it up a bit I added rick rack to the waist band seams. 

I can see from the photos that this still isn't perfect. There are some strange wrinkles above the bust, but you know what? It's good enough.  Does that make me a horrible garment maker?  I don't think so.  It's much, much better than anything I could buy in ready to wear.  The waistband fits snugly and the skirt floats and skims my belly and hips.  It doesn't catch on my rear. 

Even lined - it was light and comfortable to wear on one of the first hot days we've had in Seattle.  Next up:  I have the white denim button front skirt cut - but that's as far as I managed to get this weekend.  I was completely unmotivated to do anything.  Actually, I think I was fighting off a Summer cold.  Now it's back to the work week.