Saturday, November 15, 2008

My Mojo's Back

Inspiration is not at full throttle, but at least it's moving again, and my energy level is high.

Last night I finished my green plaid pants (rescuing my TNT pattern from the reject pile) and even got them hemmed, my least favorite part. Photo to come when I wear them to work.

I also started working on the BWOF 11/08 118 tshirt dress again. A few days after I got the issue, I cut it out in this black/white/gray fabric from Fabric.com. I knew it had to have black accents somewhere because I couldn't just walk around looking like someone had thrown confetti at me and it had stuck.

Now when I first saw the dress, I wasn't that impressed with the shape, but I was with all the color-blocking. And when I read BWOF's description, "the lovely print on this straight-cut, short-sleeved jersey dress calls constructivist art to mind. It's quickly sewn, but cutting out requires time and patience, since the colour blocks must match perfectly at all seams for a harmonious effect." I really thought that they had used black, white and red fabrics. But no, their fabric requirements mention something called "scarf print jersey," like you trip over that on every corner. Cheating, I call it. I would have respected them more if they'd blocked it and pieced it - and marked the pattern pieces so that we could have done the same if we were feeling masochistic.


So, like I said, I wanted black contrast. But where. I tried everything, as evidenced by the photo below. Waist insert, waistband, ties, belted, borders on various portions. In the end, I decided that less was probably more with such a busy fabric (and the insert at the waist just made it look too ... sad), so I went with a standard band at the neckline and matching for the sleeves. The sleeves are a little longer than originally intended, but I also want to wear this with my long-sleeved black tshirt on underneath at work, so we'll see how this length works. I can always chop them off and start over. Tie belt for the waist and I was going to add a black border to the hem, but I think I'll leave it as is for now. I haven't even hemmed it yet because I'm waiting for my coverstitch (hand it over, Santa, if you know what's good for you!)


I'm not totally thrilled at this point, but I'm not un-thrilled, either. It's cute and it's wearable - it's something new to throw on my back next week. I'll see how I feel about it once I 've worn, and if there are any other changes I want to make.

FYI for anyone who wants to make this one - it runs BIG. I'm normally a 38 in BWOF. I cut this in a 38, ended up with very generous seam allowances, decided it was still a little too baggy and added a CB seam before I put the neck band on. I still tapered it in a litle further at the waist so I didn't feel like I was wearing a bag.

7 comments:

Diana said...

I'm thinking of making this dress too but have not found the right fabric,yet. Did you lengthen the sleeves or cut them as is?They seem longer on your version.I really like your version.

snow said...

Hi Karen.
I love your dress, actually I also like the two in the first picture with the black insert. It's a perfect dress to dress up or down depending on your mood. I remember the wrap skirt you wore several years ago to the PR NYC weekend. I made the same skirt and you were right about the fringe, but I got through it.
Your black and white dress is a winner!

cidell said...

I like it with the larger inset and the bit of print on top. But, I like the color block look. I too was peeved when I realized that they were just using a good print -- not actual color blocking.

Elaray said...

I like the black insert, but I like the black sleeve and neck bands, too. Maybe you can keep the black as a wide sash.

Dawn said...

i just did this on Saturday too. I changed mine quite a bit including adding a CB seam, gathers, and v-neck. It was large on me too and I made the 34.

Lori said...

I like the larger black inset, great looking dress. I can't believe it is a print panel in BWOF.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Karen - add a black band at the hemline too...it will give it the finish I think you're looking for...otherwise I'm really liking how you made it work!