Jul 27
2008
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I used this pattern (same as for my t-shirt) and cut a larger size through the waist and hips so for once I've got a dress that fits perfectly everywhere. I will definitely be using this technique again; it's so easy. I used the short sleeves from the t-shirt and finished the neck edge (and sleeve hems) with elastic instead of using the round yolk.
The dress went together really quickly and without much fuss. Instead of doing French seams I just pinked the seam allowances and pressed them open. The batik didn't fray much at all when I washed it and my pinking shears are new and needed testing. Open seams also meant that I didn't need to figure out something different for the back seam with the zipper in it. I ended up doing the zipper by hand; my machine refused to sew through the thicker material (I think it needs a fresh needle but I haven't got any right now) so I just used the machine to baste and then sewed the zipper on myself. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be and ended up looking really nice.
I wore my dress to Rob's company barbecue yesterday. It was really comfortable. The cotton was cool enough in the sun (even though it's mostly black) and the little sleeves kept my arms warm when it started to cool off in the evening. I also discovered that with this dress it's a lot easier to put together a proper outfit. All I need to add is a pair of black shoes and ta-da! - an outfit. Each pair of shoes gives it a slightly different look too. I think I'll try it out with my black and white sandals on Monday.
(Yeah - I know, I'm wearing brown sandals in the picture but none of my black shoes are very good for walking in sand.)