Simplicity 3678
*
*
Spring rains bring... summer dresses. At least around here they do!
*
The weather here has been cold and damp with rain, rain and then some more rain. If it isn't raining, the sky is gray. For days now. Yuck. The good news is that the grass is getting ever greener, the leaves are coming out on the trees, the daffodils and tulips are up, the song birds have arrived in force (hundreds of gold finch, red finch, a blue finch!, humming birds, Baltimore Oriole- to name a few. Surely warm weather is right around the corner. And in my spare time I've been working on a new summer dress for myself.
*
Here is the line drawing. I am making View A.
Out of this:
The fabric is a really slippery knit - sort-ov like a swimsuit material, but it is so soft and cool to the touch - I just love it... even if it does need lots of pins and basting for good measure. You can drop it into a slippery pool on the floor, pick it up and it still has not a wrinkle. My kind of fabric - who has time to iron clothing? Great fabric for a trip... and paired with a cute jacket and boots this dress can do double duty right into fall very nicely.
*
The pattern is very easy! I basted the side seams and tried it on today - it seemed perfect so I sewed those seams. The sleeves are self faced - I already have them basted on - hopefully tomorrow I will get that step done. Then - only the hem is left! Easy does not mean fast though - I am not one of those people who can whip out a dress in a day. I cut the pattern 1 night, then cut out the fabric another night and slowly have been working on 1-2 steps at a time. The front was a bit fiddly with the slippery fabric, but I did it! It is taking all my will power to stick with this project until finished, but I am almost there. Next time around I will try View D which has an easier front and looks so classy... out of something a bit less slippery!
*
For a long time I hesitated about sewing knits because I don't have a coverstitch machine for the topstitching and hems (but I do have a serger). Well guess what? A $6 double needle for jersey does a great job! The top stitching is double so looks neat and the bottom is just your 1 bobbin thread and it does a bit of a zig zag between the top 2 threads - so you have your needed stretch. I'm not saying that I don't want a coverstitch machine, but at least I don't "NEED" one!
3 comments:
that is going to be a great dress! Both of them - and good for you sticking to it.
It has been cold here, snow on the ground this morning and more in the forcast - it's not going to smarten up till Friday... so all my little plants will live in the house this week, again, and we don't even really have the birds to make it better yet!! Could you send some of yours my way?? ;-)
I hope your weather, well, the grey clouds at least go away. That is the worst, when it's just grey out.... that is worse than rain I think!!
have a great Monday and enjoy your week.
That is going to make a gorgeous dress - love the fabric and I have to say that the lady on the left of the pattern looks like you.
Hope you're enjoying some sunshine like us for this Victoria Day .... or perhaps you have the horrid wind and cold we have had for the last 2 days.
I like view D as well and really like the fabric you chose. Can't wait to see you model the dress. I have a few dress patterns waiting to be made up this summer so you're making me itch to get started on them. :-)
Post a Comment