Oh hey! I made a new dress! And I have writer’s block!
Obviously the second thing is not the least bit interesting to anyone who just wants to read – or in my case; write! about sewing… however the silliest thing about it is that it is not only hindering my efforts to document the things I’m making; the very purpose of this blog in the first place! but even sillier, it is preventing me from wearing it! Since I have this crazy self-imposed rule that when I wear something I really should have blogged it first.
So I bit the bull by the horns, or whatever I even mean by that accidental mangling of metaphors which I just decided to leave there after tapping it out without thinking… oh man… and decided the only thing to do was to wear it.. TODAY. Thus forcing myself to sit down and attempt a blog post, and hopefully loosening up that pesky little brain block… and letting it soften and dissolve and become ethereal enough so it floats up and away and out of my head, like a puffy little cloud. Bye bye writer’s block!!
What am I even writing about?? OH! My dress! Of course!
yes, it’s a bit windy today… 😉
So, a few months ago, I was contacted by Sarah, of Super Cheap Fabrics, who offered me a length of fabric.. I chose this lovely, light-coffee coloured, jumbo plaid-ed linen. It’s absolutely divine, really. I’d been inspired by a dress I’d seen irl on a lady; a very chic friend of a friend. It was too long, too wide, the check too large; and I became completely inspired by the overall oversized-ness of the scale of this dress! Like a child wearing her sister’s hand-me-downs with the thought she was going to grow into it, eventually. I subsequently found out she’d had her dress custom-made up on a holiday in south-east Asia.
I used Vogue 1312; a Lynn Mizono pattern that I’d bought years ago… it has a “tablecloth” skirt, very similar to the one Shams posted on her blog, many moons ago.
could not resist the inevitable twirl!!!
I went to some effort to incorporate a few things – well, ONE thing – I really really wanted for my dress; namely, pockets. I know, I know, we seamsters are so weird about pockets… the difficulty about pockets with this particular design was the invisible zip in the left side seam. While of course it’s easy to put an inseam pocket into a regular side seam, it’s actually extraordinarly difficult to finagle a pocket in a side seam that has a zip in it…
in the end I settled upon the aforementioned in-seam pocket in the right side seam, and on the left side, I put in a single welt pocket, about an inch away from the seam with the invisible zip. Sounds simple, yes? NO!!! Because the pocket is only on one side not both, and I’m a pattern-matching lunatic, I wanted both the pocket and the invisible zip insertion to be as seamless and invisible as possible. I know. I don’t know why I do these things to myself…. anyway, careful pinning and even more careful and slow sewing, and I think I did it…
Here is the front, all zipped and pocket closed and (hopefully) reeeeasonably, sorta, invisible.
and now, the unzipped, showing-the-pocket shot.
I think I’ve shown this next feature before, but I often find the bottom inside end of an invisible zip has a slightly scratchy area, pretty much invisible to the naked eye but it makes itself felt after you’ve been happily wearing your garment for a few hours. You can feel it if you rub your finger over it a few times. So I generally wrap the lower end of the zip in a bit of fabric, like so; and stitch it down to the seam allowances.
So, as soon as I finished the dress, I was so happy I immediately flung it on and took a few pictures, shoeless. I love how it feels! the oversized ness is exactly what I wanted. Large, flooffy dresses feel so incredibly feminine to me; which is kind of funny when you consider the well-established “modern” feminine perception tends to be for tight fitting and short.
I rushed out for a location shots too, but when I got back home I felt a little cool – it’s 24C today, but funny thing, 24C feels, dare I say it? cold? compared to over a week of 35C++ !! haha… so I put on a T-shirt underneath; and I think I REALLY love it with the little sleeves underneath. I love it like this so much I might even just add little sleeves to it permanently? Hmmm, food for thought!!
Sophie very often comes up for little cuddle while I’m taking pictures in this spot… it’s near “her spot” in the house. Hehe, this picture of her little head sneaking into the shot above as she crept over to me gave me a laugh. hello, my darling little snooky snookums!!
Details:
Dress; Vogue 1312
T-shirt; the Closet Case patterns
Nettie in white jersey, details here
Shoes; Zomp, from Zomp boutique
I have just two more things to share here before the end of the year… hurrah!
Oh I love this dress so! The jumbo checks really emphasise the shape of the skirt! And it must be a pleasure to wear in hot weather 🙂
Enjoy the summer for us too!
G
Oh my! This is absolutely lovely in a plaid. I made this dress, remember putting in the side zipper that I never used. It had enough ease to slip over my head. That said, great job on the pockets.
That’s a great dress! I love that fabric and you’ve found the perfect pattern for it.
I totally understand the need to document a new make on the blog before it becomes old news through being worn. My kids are still young enough to put holes in knees or stains on shirts, so the rule is always to blog early, even if the prose is stilted. 🙂
Perfect plaid matching. Enjoy the summer, we have minus 20 here in Canada.
Oh, I love this dress, Carolyn! The lovely details are invisible (!) and the check matching is incredible! Look at how the side check meets the bodice!
perfect plaid matching and great use of that fabric. and so many gems among the Vogue patterns. great photos too on the windy day.
A work of art. The plaid, the plaid matching, the details! It is lovely, Carolyn.
And, as always, you look beautiful in it.
Impressive in size and form. I would keep it as it is and wear a Tee under it if it is ‘cold’ but have it sleeveless if it is toasty. Jo xx
Dear Carolyn,
I’m always amazed by your fabulous creations. I have been following your blog for many years and love your creativity and enthusiasm for sewing. This dress is gorgeous, you have such a flair for matching fabrics to patterns. Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas.
Oh goodness, this is gorgeous. I have serious dress envy.
Beautiful dress and matched checks that flow through the drape of the dress perfectly. I bought this pattern recently to make up in linen and then decided it might not be a practical shape and the linen wouldn’t drape well. Now seeing your version has motivated me to give it a go.
Wow, that is so lovely. Perfect for the heat. Fabulous pattern matching and problem solving.
That dress is utterly gorgeous! The pattern matching is slightly mind-bending; I am in awe of your skill and imagination.
But I can help with getting both invisible zip and in-seam pocket into one seam. Here goes:
First, attach a pocket piece to the front skirt piece with a skinny seam as usual.
If you use the haemostat method to insert your zip, stitch the side seam above and below the zip opening and baste the opening closed. Just ignore the (half) pocket attached to the front, it will end up in the right place.
Lay the zip over the wrong side of the basted opening, making sure the orientation is exactly as the finished installation needs to be. (If you put your zip in before sewing the seam, that’s fine too, just offer up the zip as it will be installed) Mark on the zip tape where the top and bottom of the installed pocket piece fall.
Stitch the remaining pocket piece to the zip between the marks. Yes, you have a zip with just a pocket piece attached, which looks a bit ridiculous. Stitch the pocket piece close to the teeth, just as you would any seam allowance. To get the orientation right, lay the pocket piece exactly on top of the one already attached to the skirt and turn the pocket seam allowance into position. Lay the zip on top, in the correct position; now you can pick up the pocket piece and zip together and pin and sew.
Now install the zip as normal, except on the front zip tape, stop and start the stitching to leave the pocket opening.
Finally, stitch the pocket pieces all around the edge.
I have done this many times now and it is very neat. It works for skirts and trousers as well as dresses. About the only “gotcha” is that the zip has to go to at least the bottom of the pocket. Hope that helps.
that’s amazing Odette, thank you so much for sharing that great tip. I really appreciate it, and will enjoy trying that method out sometime 🙂
Gawd I luv that dress Carolyn and who hasn’t got that pattern hidden somewhere in their stash? It’s the one I always pass over but cannot seem to give away.
Makes me wonder why I pass it over? Massive metreage? Impractical trip overable skirt? a model I just can’t relate to who has spent her time in my stash perilously close to the age of a building?
Thanks for the inspo. I’m suitably keen now. Enjoy yours won’t you and Happy Merries btw x
That is such a cool pattern/ print combo!
I’ve had this pattern for ages, even have fabric to make it with. You’ve inspired me to get to it and make it! Mine will be more winter-y but I’m already mentally searching my stash for a warm weather version. Thank you!!
Love that little detail on the zip and your pocket. Just beautiful!
Another winner, thank you for posting it! It gives me a happy rush, to see a project where the cut, color, fabric pattern and drape all work together. The welt pocket is just icing on the cake.
This dress also reminds me of the power of non-color colors. It’s funny how each of must hunt for our own; one person’s perfect gray makes another person look ill.
This flaxy greige turns a feminine dress shape into something modern and gutsy, while also setting your exact hair color aglow. It’s perfection, on you.
Merry Christmas to your family. With major happy events in the recent past and more in the coming year, how could it not be merry? I look forward to seeing what you post in the new year.