This was
almost my last FO for 2014, but there were errands to run for New Year's Eve. And then my photographer was laid low by a nasty flu, poor Man.
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| Front view |
We've been having a cold snap here on the Central Coast, so this is not seasonal sewing. I've planned a flannel Archer and a red cowl-neck Renfrew, but this dress somehow jumped the line.
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| Cover shot. There are a couple more patterns in here I'm itching to try |
The pattern is from Gretchen Hirsch's book, "Gertie Sews Vintage Casual."
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| Side view |
I've been wanting to add an every-day wrap dress to my closet as part of my plan to work dresses into my daily wardrobe. Gertie describes the pattern as a wrap dress with retro features - a shawl-like collar, a slightly full skirt and gathers at the front shoulder. Also included are in-seam pockets.
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| Back view |
I made the pattern up just like Gertie said, except I did pleats rather
than gathers at the front shoulder and waist. As a brick, I'm always
trying to reduce fluff around my middle.
I'm in between Gertie's size 4 (34" bust) and size 6 (36" bust). I
decided to do a straight size 4, figuring the wrapping would give me
some leeway and better the bust be a bit on the snug side to avoid any
potential gaping. The wrap doesn't gape at all, and I bet it wouldn't have even if I'd gone up a size. I really like how the neckline sits. I'll feel totally comfortable wearing this dress to work.
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| Side view with pocket |
Sophie-Lee, who blogs over at
Two Random Words, made this dress up in a floral lawn. It really flows nicely in a light, drapey fabric.
I used a fairly substantial cotton - maybe a bit too substantial, but I fell in love with the colors. The pleats at the waist and the weight of the fabric make the skirt stand out a bit, which I think I kind of like.
I like my skirts to hit below the knee. This skirt ended up just right, but I took the smallest hem I could get away with. If you give this one a try and you are taller than 5'2", you might want to add a bit of length when cutting out.
I'm going to be taking part in the 2015
Stashbusting Sewalong, hosted by EmSewCrazy, so I diligently pawed through the stash to see if I had a piece of woven fabric that I could use for this project. Turns out my woven stash is all in lengths of 2 yards or less (darn my penny-pinching fabric buying ways). So I admit that for this project I headed to
Harts and burned through my holiday gift certificate from my son (thank you Evan!).
Now, when it comes to knit stash, it's a different story. Knits, I'm drowning in.
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| Another front view, with fish |
My pattern review is over at PatternReview.com
here.
