At long last, Dress 13! There I was going like gangbusters all summer long, but when it came to the final dress I wanted it to be just ‘so’. Usually that brings things to a screeching halt. I have a tendency to wait until all the stars (& patterns & fabric) align before proceeding in this mindset.
For a long time I’ve been dreaming of making a shirt dress. Originally in my head it was going to be made of eyelet fabric and much more prim and proper. (Think Blair Waldorf garden party) When I spotted the Ute variation B shirt on Burda Style, I knew this was just the shirt to be turned into a dress and just the dress to end this collection.
I couldn’t resist the My Folklore print filled with woodland cuteness in black. (squirrels and mushrooms!) This japanese fabric collection would probably qualify for one of my all time favourite collections.
I bought the pattern online, then printed out the shirt pattern, tiled & taped all the pages and cut out all the pieces. Then I taped the bodice pieces to big sheets of paper and drafted them to the length I wanted the dress to be. Plus, added hem allowance, of course.
I laid out the pattern pieces to figure out yardage, so that I only cut the exact amount off the bolt. The fabric was then washed and dried. When I lay out the fabric to cut the pattern pieces out, I was a bit short. Perhaps if I had photographed my original layout, I would know where my calculation went wrong. I couldn’t get the neck tie to properly fit by just the tiniest amount. Not only that, but I realized that I had drafted my pattern pieces in different lengths. Two of the bodice pieces were short by a couple inches. I had already cut one of them out. I cursed for about 20 seconds, got over it and decided to merely patch in another contrasting fabric from my stash. I always try to turn a ‘mistake’ into a ‘feature’. This is something I want to talk about more later.
The sewing of the dress was simple enough. The dress has princess seams and darling pleated puff sleeves. The stickler was finishing off the neckline. I think I read the instructions for adding the bias strip to the neck forty times. It didn’t really make sense to me. In the end, I’m not sure if I did what they asked or just made something up. It looks good either way. The neck tie is definitely what does it for me with this dress. It’s a scarf and a dress in one!
The dress has eight buttonholes. Normally I find this rather stressful, but the Bernina Aurora memorizes the first buttonhole you do and will automatically keep stitching the exact same buttonhole. Perfectly pretty little teal buttonholes in no time flat. Love. I found a bunch of matching grey buttons in my button jars and used a single aqua button for the last button. For me, part of the joy of sewing is those tiny personal details.
The fit of the dress is amazing and I didn’t make any alterations to it. This pattern is awesome and I’ll make it again as a shirt for sure. Option A has a peter pan collar which also looks really sweet.
I meant to wear this dress with teal coloured tights, but I didn’t have shoes that completed that look. I’m on the hunt for some cute flats that are also comfortable enough to walk all the way to work in. I don’t think that I can wear flip flops much longer.
Wow, I learned a lot this summer, mostly through making a lot of ‘mistakes’. I totally enjoyed making all these dresses and having your support and comments during the process!
For the winter, I’m starting to feel that nesting urge, so I’m going to focus on projects for the home. New curtains for the living room, a quilt for the guest room, various pillows and getting my collection of artwork framed and hung.
