I very well might be a glutton for frustration, or perhaps I just have an overambitious personality, because I have great plans to resize this pattern to fit my own measurements and body shape. Look at how adorable the dress is though... a fitted waist, a full skirt, a v-neck style neckline, and gathering around the bust... it just doesn't get much cuter for a summer dress. I am hoping that the "simple" addition of inches around the bodice to widen everything all around, plus adding some height inches and more coverage to the cups will do the trick.I have no fabric for the dress yet, but I assure you whatever I choose won't be plaid. I dislike plaid. I also dislike argyle. It is all just too preppy, and at the same time strikes me as juvenile. I wore plaid in middle school, but back then it was in the form of a flannel shirt, not my most becoming look. I am pleased that my style has evolved since then. Now I really like florals. Also, the color pink.
Below are a few fabrics that I just love from reprodepot.com. Click on the image to enlarge the samples. The fabric on the bottom right reminds me of my wedding invitations, which I love, while the bright pink fabric in the upper right looks very vintage to me. It strikes me like something that should be worn to a party where people drink punch served out of a big glass bowl. I think for this dress it will be important to choose a flattering fabric, something to deemphasize my chest while still being busy enough to hide any of my sewing mistakes. The purple with yellow and green mums is certainly unique.
Fabric Descriptions from Left to Right, Top to Bottom
all fabrics and images can be found at reprodepot.com
Button Mums - green
fabric content: 100% cotton
fabric width: 44"/45" wide
motif size: larger flowers are 1 1/2" wide
fabric keywords: Martha Negley, flowers, floral, garden
BTNMMG $8.95
Packed Mums - pink
fabric content: 100% cotton
fabric width: 44"/45" wide
motif size: larger flowers are 5" wide
fabric keywords: Martha Negley, flowers, floral, garden
PCKMMP $8.95
Veronique - blue
fabric content: 100% cotton
fabric width: 44"/45" wide
motif size: larger flowers are about 4 1/4" wide
fabric keywords: flowers, floral, garden
VRNQBL $8.75
Button Mums - purple
fabric content: 100% cotton
fabric width: 44"/45" wide
motif size: larger flowers are 1 1/2" wide
fabric keywords: Martha Negley, flowers, floral, garden
BTNMMQ $8.95
Button Mums - orange
fabric content: 100% cotton
fabric width: 44"/45" wide
motif size: larger flowers are 1 1/2" wide
fabric keywords: Martha Negley, flowers, floral, garden
BTNMMR $8.95
Rabbits & Race-Cars Meadow - olive (half yard)
fabric content: 85% cotton / 15% linen
fabric width: 42"/43" wide
motif size: larger plants are 4 1/2" tall
fabric keywords: Japanese import, Heather Ross, kids, children, nature, flowers, plants
note: priced and sold by the half-yard (18 inches). multiple half-yards will be cut as a continuous piece.
RRMDLV $8.95
3 comments:
I think that would be a pretty party dress as well. Good thing you live in San Antonio and it can be worn almost year round because that looks like a long project. I like the fabrics on the left side best for you with my favorite being the ranunculus print.
I think that would be a pretty party dress as well. Good thing you live in San Antonio and it can be worn almost year round because that looks like a long project. I like the fabrics on the left side best for you with my favorite being the ranunculus print.
It IS a darling dress; I am mightily tempted myself, and would run into the SAME problems you have (which I have been fixing for years - almost wrote "yours"!). Or I could opt for the last pattern on Page 1 of the 1950s section at evadress.com; it has similar treatment of the bust, the fitted waist, the smoothly-fitting waist with wide gored skirt - but it has a back. True, it has a somewhat dorkulous "open" slash in the back, as if one had forgotten to insert one's zipper - but I plan to deal with that by inserting a zipper.
It's difficult, I know, when you fall in love with something (even more so when it has a darling jacket TOO) - but at least nowadays I try not to create more problems for myself. I know I need to wear a bra, or Some Supportive Garment, or Be Prepared to Make Same; so I try to look at those features, and the various water hazards, when I look at patterns. You can love with your head as well as your heart.
I've been reading back through your blog; I'm sorry I didn't find it sooner, because I would have let you know some nuggets that would have helped as you fit your toile for the dress. The front of the wrap is actually too long for you; I would have suggested that you dart out the excess in the toile, before cutting toile #2; you would have had a much shorter, but much more acutely curved, line where the wrap crosses. You can see the excess length in the wrap; the fabric almost appears to be trying to push itself into darts. That excess needed to come out before any darts of the style-and-fit, meant-to-be-seen, variety were put in. And I don't mean the bodice length is too long; that seems to be just dandy. It is the length that is part of the wrap feature - the hypotenuse, as it were.
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