excuse my tangent. so i never posted photos of this dress, which i actually do like although the stripes are kinda loud and it feels a little "jamaican maaan"... ("I see pride! I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who don't take no crap off of nobody!" anyone? anyone? is it sad that the most i know of jamaica is from the movie cool runnings? but that's such a good movie! you know you like it.) i was hoping to get some nice outside photos, but these inside ones were the best i got.
the fabric was suuuuper cheap from fabric.com and i didn't notice when i ordered it that it's not a cotton knit. i was expecting a soft cotton knit. major surprise when i opened the package! it's some stretchy poly lycra blend that could easily be a swimsuit. i hated it at first. but it was so cheap i decided to just go ahead and use it, because if i hated the result, i could pretend it was just a muslin =)
i made up my own pattern and used my super new swedish tracing paper, which rocks by the way. get some. i decided to be lazy and made the front and back bodice exactly the same! - since it's so stretchy it didn't matter, and i like the scoop in the back. i referenced a RTW dress and tank top as a starting point. oh and if you missed it, i totally aced the side seam matching, but the only side photo i have is the one i posted here. for the skirt i just did a big ole rectangle and gathered it. i had enough to make it a maxi, but when i held it up those stripes were just overwhelming. i knew i'd never wear it. so i chopped it off. and when i say "chopped" i mean i carefully laid it out a measured it and painstakingly cut it shorter and then did a very tidy job of hemming it.
the bodice is fully lined with the same fabric because it made the fabric feel more substantial and it solved the issue of how i wanted to bind the neck and armholes. (i first typed "arm and neckholes" ha ha, that makes it sound like i have multiple necks but only one arm. love it!)
It's really cute! I love the combo of horizontal and vertical stripes. It fits perfectly too!
ReplyDeleteThanks! glad you like the stripes going 2 directions, i went back and forth about that
DeleteI Think It's Very VeRy Pretty! The Age Of Wearing Out Of The house Your Me Mades Is Upon You!:)
ReplyDeleteyay, i would love to be in the age of wearing out of the house my me mades!
DeleteSuper cute dress! Great job making your pattern and lining it ~ looks great on you!
ReplyDeletethanks! the lining part actually made it easier in constructing the bodice! i almost lined the skirt too, much it got heavy and was pulling the bodice down. so now i wear a white skirt slip just because those yellow stripes are a little on the see-through side
DeleteAdorable! The fabric is great and your dress is so cute! Bravo!
ReplyDeletethank you thank you! the fabric is growing on me =)
DeleteThis is so super cute on you! Love the fit!
ReplyDeleteyay! this fabric is so stretchy that getting a good fit was easy-peasy =D
DeleteVery cute, you should definitely keep this in your wear pile ;)
ReplyDeleteit actually made it into my closet, yay!!
DeleteIt looks so cute and summery! I like the way you played with the stripe direction. (And I did go to Jamaica earlier this summer, and your dress would fit rather well there, but that's a good thing.)
ReplyDeletei'm so jealous, i'd love to go to jamaica! i would pack this dress =)
DeleteLove the stripiness! And the fit is brill.
ReplyDeletethanks! i have another large stiped knit with mostly all blue and green to play with soon. both are super stretchy, so the fit is very forgiving, esp. with a gathered skirt!
DeleteVery nice! I love the vertical and horizontal alignments - makes it more visually interesting :)
ReplyDeleteglad you like it! luckily this fabric was so stretchy it didn't really matter if i changed up the direction of the print, yay!
DeleteVery cute! I like the way you changed up the direction of the stripes from the bodice to the skirt.
ReplyDeletethanks! i'm thinking in a future version in another stripe i have, i might put the stripes on a diagonal and do a chevron pattern on the bodice, but i think that would look better with a V-neckline maybe?
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