Starting 2020 with a new dress

Happy 2020 to all sewing and fashion enthusiasts out there!

I started off the year with a thought of no longer struggling through sewing projects that don't want to be.

After many hours stitching, unpicking and working on a chiffon dress pieces that started to look different every time I picked it up, I just got so fed up and thought. Time to let go. I'm not doing this anymore. So many hours of wrestling with idea in my head, and it feels like I'm just peddling mud and not getting anywhere. 

So, then and there, I made the decision, that starting now, in January of 2020, I will not longer struggle and battle through a pattern or pieces of fabric that don't want to work. So, I put the top of the dress (that was causing my headache) aside, took the bottom skirt pieces and made a quick a-line skirt with a wide black elastic and that was that. 

The skirt (that was supposed to be a dress) came out beautifully, by the way.

And there was my first new years resolution and I plan to cut out a few more things that just don't work, even if I've invested countless amount of hours on it.

Below is a dress I made during the holiday break. It was a real easy-peasy pattern drafted from a Burdastyle 6/2019 edition, pattern #123 and the fabric I chose is a drapey dress fabric with a satin woven finish on the right side and matt finish on the wrong side. The fabric and pattern is perfect for the hot summers here as the large armhole openings makes it nice and airy. 
No need for long sleeves and I omitted making the slip dress as it was not needed for this dress. I might use it for future projects though....

Blue dress - front and back view

Below are the sketches of the front and back of the pattern to show the boatneck shape of the neckline and the drop shoulder seam lines.

Burdastyle 6/2019 #123

Formal wrap dress with knit fabric

With a last minute scramble, I have to find a suitable outfit for a wedding that is less than a week away. My preference is to make it of course, also because all the stunning dresses I've seen in stores are in different shades of brown. Igg. Unfortunately the browns and yellows in the winter colors don't work with my complexion very well.

I've decided on a lengthy wrap dress, in a woven knit fabric and went to a local fabric store in search of something suitable and found a stunning knit fabric (below), that I think will do the trick.

There are tiny gold flecks in the fabric and the colors are perfect! And I can pair the dress with a formal dark green coat on the night.



So, now for the dress pattern. I would like to do a longer wrap dress this time, with raglan sleeves and couldn't find such a pattern so I had to settle on a course of 'franken-pattern'.
Wrap Dress Burda 10/2011

Wrap dress Burda 4/2015

First, I traced the top pieces from the April 2015- model and then the skirt pieces of the Oct 2011-model, both in size 40. No need even to draft a new pattern, just cut out the pieces and sew together. I did do a quick check to make sure the skirt and top pieces match up at the waist widths.

Then on to the construction of the dress. I normally like to start with the overlocker to neaten all the edges. Next step is stitching of darts



At this point, the bust darts are completed on the front and back pieces, following with the shoulder seams. The facings are then stitched together at the should seams and attached to the neck line of the dress.



Here are the 2 sleeves lay out flat. By merging the 2 pattern pieces together I only had to stitch the curved shoulder dart.

           

And here is the dress, completed and pressed, hanging on the dress-form. It fits perfectly over the bust and neck and the waist closure is also very comfortable.



The dress is a bit long as I added a few cm's to the bottom seam and now the skirts ends up feeling heavy, so I might decide to shorted a bit at a later stage, but for now I like the longer length and will keep it this way.



And here is a photo of me wearing the dress to a party this past weekend. Actually, now that I've worn it again and had a good look at it in the daytime, I think I'm ok with the length as it is!
So, now I can work on some of my unfinished projects that are waiting for my attention... I did manage to make a few Barbie outfits this weekend. Those quick, spur of the moment projects are always the best!

Red stretch jersey-knit dress

And so the day starts with me looking in the cupboard for something to wear to work...…It is just so liberating to be able to put a work outfit together with one of my creations!

I've decided on the red dress, inserted below, that I finished a few months ago. The fabric is so amazing close up, all shiny and super luxurious with a nice 2 way stretch. Perfect for the project I had in mind.

Knipmode Apr18 Jurk17

The pattern is from a sewing magazine called Knipmode, the April 2018 edition. The panels are not very clear on the final product, so I've included a schematic of the model. It was super easy to put together and sooo comfortable to wear, and so I'm very pleased with how it came out. 

a quick selfie