Fabric: 1.4 m ‘Portuguese tiles’ fabric, part polyester part viscose
Haberdasheries: None!
Making this dress was so little effort that I hardly understand why
anyone would go shopping! What was also easy is that it could be sewed on a
regular machine, since the fabric doesn’t fray. I don’t quite understand why
knit fabric doesn’t fray whereas a knit sweater that hasn’t been finished
properly would, but it’s certainly convenient. I had some serger problems a
while ago and didn’t feel like doing lots of test runs now, so I just sewed
this on my regular machine using a zigzag stitch. I also zigzagged the hem and
sleeves, as the usual double needle stitching causes a tunnel, which I find a
lot less professional looking than a nice flat zigzag!
I got the pattern in Closet Case Patterns’ thanksgiving sale. I didn’t
want the dress to have the bodycon effect it’s supposed to have as I have high
hips, so a looser fit is more flattering on me. Therefore I cut a size 16 (!),
although I ended up sewing a 14 – and grading to 12 at the arm hole. I ended up
using the sleeves from the Lady Skater Dress pattern by Kitschy Coo as I thought
the Nettie sleeves were strangely off the shoulder. And I added a seam in the
back piece as a swayback alteration. So in the end I guess I might as well have
improvised this dress based on my tried and tested Lady Skater pattern, while I
was trying to make things easier for myself by not improvising… However, this
way I also have a bathing suit pattern for when I want to make a 1920s bathing
suit.
I
liked the colour and pattern of the fabric (and its name, as I love Portugal –
although Portuguese tiles or azulejos are usually blue) but I’m certainly not
going to buy fabrics with a high artificial fabric content anymore. When I buy
clothes I always check the label first and don’t even try them on if they’re
not made of natural fabrics, since those are so much more comfortable to wear
and also more environmentally friendly (washing artificial fabrics causes
microplastics to end up in the water!), and it’s rather silly to put in effort
making my own clothes by a different standard.
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| The zigzag sleeve hem |
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| Kitty testing the fabric :P. She liked it! |
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