I’ve made a dress, utilising the design on p52 of Pattern Magic, by Tomoko Nakamichi.
This appears to be a fairly plain dress on a casual glance. But it is not. It has a “feature”: a feature that like many Pattern Magic features, seems to the casual, non-sewing observer to be a superficially simple thing, like “so? what could possibly be difficult about that??” but in actuality, getting to the nitty gritty of it, is a fair dinkum epic saga to put together seamlessly and successfully. In this case, the feature is that the bodice explodes out into an incorporated posy of entwined knots that looks sorta like a statement neckpiece, or maybe a 3D sculptural bib. Prof Nakamichi describes it as “By bringing together several knots that resemble tiny bells I have created a unique garment that evokes the sounds of bells ringing”
This is achieved by the front being six pieces… four of these end in a long strip; which is later tied into knots which you weave together as artistically as you can. Counting from a shoulder; sections 1 and 6; and sections 3 and 8; are each one piece; comprising two sections joined by a bridge, so these joining bridges have to be knotted before you can sew the top sections to the rest of the front.
I made my dress using a light stone coloured, linen/silk mix, bought from Fabulous Fabrics about four years ago. Yes! a long time ago! This was another length of fabric previously Too Good To Actually Use.
Due to the nature of the design; some of the strips are cut on the bias and some on the half bias. To save fabric and add stability I cut all the facing strips on the grain. I faced and turned out each strip separately, and then later sewed on the bodice facings. When it came to facing that front neckline, I sewed each section at a time and checked each obsessively for a smooth finish before proceeding to the next one; shoulders first and finishing at the centre front.
The back is four pieces; interestingly in a princess seamed arrangement. The dress closure is by invisible zip in the centre back seam, and the back neckline is a modest V-line. I added deep, inseam side pockets, and attached a self skinny belt in the side seams to tie at the back. This adds a bit of shape to it, and provides some visual interest at the back, which is otherwise rather plain. The ends of the belt are tied in little knots, a tiny design echo of those knots at the neckline at the front.
This is probably one of the top ten most difficult makes I’ve ever attempted. Vogue Advanced/Plus Difficile?? pfff, Pattern Magic farts in your general direction!*
However I am, in inverse proportion to the degree of difficulty involved; stupidly pleased with it. I think maybe I am a sewing room masochist, deriving a perverse enjoyment from the torture of difficult dressmaking challenges. What a weirdo, huh? But I’m thinking of something easy next.
* Monty Python of course!
Details:
Dress; adapted from the design on p53 of Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, light brown silk/linen
Shoes; new! for autumn!! c/o Misano
