Spring Daisy V1287
Oh, hey guys! Remember me? It's been a while! [Boring blogger apology for not posting in 2 months] Can you ever forgive me? Keith and I moved last month, from an apartment into a charming, tiny Victorian house here in Bellingham (renting, not owning, in case you're curious). And the house in the pictures above is not where we live lol. I imagine that house belongs to a very old, very sweet lady with many doilies, and many cats. We bought our first dining room table, and have been doing other strange things like buying art to put on the walls. We have been moving away from our bachelor/ette pad mentality, and attempting to embrace adulthood and home decor. "Let's become one of those couples that makes everyone use coasters!" I said gleefully to Keith during a recent trip to Bed Bath and Beyond. "And if they don't use coasters, we'll start droning on about how beautiful and expensive all of our wood furnishings are." This idea pleased me a great deal, not because our wood furnishings are beautiful or expensive, but because enforcing coasters on guests seemed like a subtle way of keeping them in line. In all seriousness though, I spent a good amount of time after moving focusing on home-making. So that's my excuse for March.
My excuse for April is as follows. I was stuck in a lame sewing project that never reached fruition. The idea seemed solid, but it wasn't something I was excited about, and I ended up feeling completely bogged down and eventually just stopped making it. I've known for a long time that projects which feel like homework are death to my sewjo. I typically avoid such projects, but I think my sewspiration was also suffering due to so much dreary weather, and I just kind of fell into it. Anyway, I knew for my next project I needed something lush and juicy, to get me excited again about sewing.
I picked up this orange daisy printed fabric last time I was in Vancouver, and it's been burning a hole in my fabric stash ever since. It's a lightweight poly crepe with a small amount of stretch. My sewspiration started to bubble and pop just thinking about making this into a bold Spring dress. Normally, I choose the pattern first, then buy a fabric based on what I think the pattern needs. For this fabric, all I wanted was to make it happy, and to see it at its very best lol. Something to show off its lovely drape, while simultaneously not under-utilizing its stretch capability. Drape and stretch, an odd request indeed.
Enter V1287, a DKNY design that I have some, ehem, history with. I made this dress back in 2015, while taking classes with Tchad in Chicago. I was a brand spanking new sewer and picked something complicated in order to force more learning and growth. I remember this pattern being a total nightmare for me at the time. I made an awful and hilarious-looking muslin which elicited giggles from the rest of the class every time I put it on. I somehow managed to sew the pockets on inside out. I ran out of the bright red fabric I was using, and someone generously offered me bright green fabric. This thing was horrendous. The actual version I later made was only slightly better. I remember the pleats taking what felt like forever and being totally stumped by the pocket construction both times.
But a lot has changed since then. My skill level has been slowly, steadily creeping in the right direction. With every project I complete, I typically think, this is the best thing I've yet made. Even with all the struggles I had with this design in the past, I knew I could conquer it now. So I did.
I couldn't believe how seamlessly and quickly this came together. I had the pleats marked and basted in a single evening, over a glass or two of wine. I had the confidence to discard the sometimes strange, multitudinous finishing instructions this pattern recommended, and replaced them for what I felt was right. The neck opening I finished in one continuous rolled hem, instead of three separate rolled hems as the pattern called for. I just couldn't justify the extra work. I also disregarded the waist markings (for the over-lapping front, as well as pocket placement) and simply put them where I thought they would go best on my body. I cut the elastic at 27" (my waist measurement) rather than use the generic "guide for elastic" --it seemed silly to do anything else. I also opted out of using interfacing on the waistband, and instead sandwiched a piece of non-stretch lining fabric between the front waistband pieces to give some stability, as well as further opacity. And there was no way I was making that slip. If you must wear a slip under, it is my belief that any slip will do. You may be surprised to hear this, but I am not the most frequent of slip-wearers. I also had the foresight to sew the rolled skirt hem with a zig zag stitch, as I have heretofore had an unfortunate amount of experience with popping skirt hems. I know this isn't exactly a couture-level finishing style, but for a basic Spring/Summer sun dress, it works just fine.
Pfew, that was a lot of information. If you made it this far, thanks for hanging on with me. I am going to try to post regularly, but honestly, if the choice is between posting something I'm not that into frequently, or posting things I'm genuinely passionate about less frequently, I can tell you I tend towards the latter.
Hey guys, thanks for stopping by! Please remember to use coasters next time, and I'll talk to you soon! Feel free to drop a comment if you have something to say!
XOXO,
Amy
Comments
Post a Comment