Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Two more knit dresses.

When I showed you my Pucci Swirls dress a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that it was my practice run for a couple dresses I wanted to make for the spring.  Last week I made them both up on the same day, production-line style. 

I learned my lesson from the Pucci Swirls dress re: having the print straight at the hem as well as meeting at the sides.  So this time, before I even got started, I traced the front and back pieces again then taped them along the center to the original pieces to get a full pattern piece.  I'm glad I decided to do it that way instead of flipping the half piece:  it allowed me to see exactly what the whole front or back would look like.  I have a little bit of trouble visualizing that from just a half piece.

These two dresses were made from fabrics I bought on sale at Girl Charlee in the fall.  All winter, I daydreamed about making them up and wearing them in the spring.  But our winter was longer than usual, and I wasn't able to get enthused about actually making them until last week.  I'm so glad I got them done though, because now it's full-on spring, and I'm wearing dress #1 today!


Neon stripes!  Yowza!  When I bought these sandals, I thought they were really bright orange - but they pale next to the insanely bright orange in this dress!

You can see that I got the hem in line with the stripe, but it wasn't easy - the fabric was a little skewed.  Also, the hemline of this dress is slightly curved, which makes things a little harder with stripes! I made sure to match the stripes at the side seams:


And did the zigzag hem again:


The only problem I had is that as I was getting ready to put on my neck binding, I discovered a tiny hole in the fabric in the upper back :-(  This has happened to me more than once with knit fabrics.  Fortunately, the hole was quite small, so I popped on some fusible tricot inside.  I'm hoping it holds - I'd really hate for this dress to get ruined quickly.  These colors make me happy.


I saved the best for last.  Here is my new favorite dress for spring:


I. Love. This. Dress.  This is my #1 favorite fabric I have ever bought from Girl Charlee.  Stripes AND flowers - what's not to love?!  This one is also on the heavier side, so this dress feels a little more substantial than the others.

These stripes are so irregular that I didn't even bother trying to match them at the sides:


But I don't think it takes away from the dress.  There's a lot going on here!  When I bought the fabric, I thought the stripes were navy, but I think they're actually black.  I don't mind though - that expands the possibilities of things to wear with the dress.

I love this pattern so much, and I'm finding myself reaching for these dresses when I get dressed.  I'm planning on going through my shrinking stash to see if I have anything appropriate for another.  But first I've got some gift sewing to do :-)



41 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! My favourite is the same as yours - love those stripes and flowers together.

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    1. Thank you! Isn't it great? If it had come in other colorways, I would have bought them all!

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  2. Oh my goodness, I also LOVE the striped flower one! So, so pretty and springy!

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  3. I have to echo the others - the stripes and flowers are fantastic!

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  4. Ahh, I love the stripes and floral one as well! Do you remember the weight of the fabric? Was it medium or heavy weight?

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    1. Well, I have to admit that I've only recently started looking at the listed weight before buying fabric quite recently, and only after getting lots of stuff that wasn't what I thought it would be. This one is no longer available so I don't know how Girl Charlee listed it, but I would say it's a medium weight. Definitely not heavy weight. It has a fair amount of stretch, but I don't think it has lycra.

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  5. The matching of stripes on the first one is perfect! That one is def my fave, it's so summery!

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    1. Thank you! Sergio (my serger) makes it pretty easy!

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  6. Great spring dresses, I like them both, but the stripes with roses is gorgeous! And all that in one day - you are really a professional now!

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    1. Thanks, Carmela! These are actually pretty easy to make, and I've done it enough times now that I don't have to follow the instructions, which save some time too.

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  7. ahhhh i have eyed that floral stripe fabric so many times and not bought it for some reason! seriously jealous, love both dresses!

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    1. I bought this after being inspired by your floral maxi from last summer! I considered making this into a maxi, but then decided I'd like it better as a shorter dress.

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  8. You are so good about prints! These dresses are wonderfully awesome.

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  9. The stripes are fun but I LOVE the second one!

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  10. Great dresses! I really love the floral print. I can never tell the difference between navy and black.

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    1. Thanks! It can be really hard! I think it was listed as navy, but it's really, really dark.

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  11. The black and white striped floral is cute, but my favorite is the bright neon dress. Love it!! And the shoes, oh my goodness. All I can say is don't wear them around me!!!

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  12. Too much! I love both these dresses, and you are definitely rocking them :) I love that they are so different, but both perfect for you! I'm definitely feeling some fabric-envy over the floral striped one ;)

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  13. Love it! I love stripes :)
    super fast sewing ;)

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    1. It does seem to go faster production-line style!

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  14. Love them both! That floral/stripe fabric is FABULOUS -- how on earth did I miss that, when I have like a good half of the prints she's offered in the last year?? LOL
    They are wonderful Gail -- I can totally see having one of these super easy and cute dresses for every day of the week. You know, so you wouldn't have to do laundry more often than that. ;) I've definitely had to patch similar holes in knit fabric a few times before. What I've done is take a small piece of spare fabric and use fusible webbing to patch it to the wrong side of the garment, right side of patch to wrong side of garment. I've not tried the tricot, but I definitely will -- that would be much easier and less bulky!

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    1. Wow, I'm really surprised you don't have any of it, having seen your amazing stash! I think I agree - I do need more of these. I've been trying so hard not to order from GC, but I'll probably break down soon and do it anyway!

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  15. A great suite of summer dresses! The flower placement worked out nicely, too. Having the full-front and full-back pattern pieces would certainly help there - good thinking.
    -- stashdragon

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  16. LOVE your new dresses, perfect for spring and travelling, and could even be good for winter paired with a cardigan and tights, no? I really need to give this pattern another try... after the move.

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    1. Yes, I've been making these with traveling in mind. And the two "winter" ones I made did get worn with tights and boots. Next winter I may even make one with the detachable cowl that comes with the pattern!

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  17. Pretty! I so love the floral striped one on you!

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  18. I love both dresses, but the flowers-on-stripes print is to die for!

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  19. Oh, wow, I really loved the neon striped dress until I scrolled down and saw the second one-- it blows me away! What a great print! Love both of these on you! They're the perfect day dresses-- bright, fun, and easy to wear! Great job!

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    1. Thanks! I was just looking at your MMM leopard print dress last night, and thinking I need to get that Lola pattern as well. This type of dress ought to be a wardrobe staple for me. Of course, I keep gravitating to the fancy, floofy stuff though!

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  20. Oh I just love the striped/floral dress! They both look so flattering and easy to wear.

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    1. Thank you, Kelly! They are easy to wear!

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  21. I love these! What fun and happy dresses, perfect for spring. I'll have to take another look at that pattern!

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