Thursday, November 15, 2012

A thing of the past and something yet to come.....

I wore this dress to a wedding a few days ago, but actually made it three years ago.

 
 
I originally made it for my husband's son's wedding (never to be referred to as my stepson). The wedding was out of town, and required some planning regarding dressing. It was a hot day, so the car trip alone would not have been condusive to a good look on the other side. So I opted to get dressed at the venue. Fortunately I had taken another dress with that I had made just incase, as I was rather indecisive as to what to wear. That in itself was providence. The groom's mother wore a suit in a pastel blue, which I saw just before we got dressed. My mind was made up. For the life of me, I just could not upstage the mother of the groom - it was her day, not mine! So I opted for my second choice. My peacock (see the peacock eyes in the fabric) dress was packed away for another debut!
The pattern  I used was new to me, so I used the lining as my muslin first, before cutting the fabric. I have found if I am not familiar with a pattern,  lined garments provide the bonus in that the lining, which is invariably much cheaper than the outer fabric, can double up as a muslin, avoiding costly mistakes later.
 
I used Butterick B4127
 
I can recall that attaching the lining to the outer garment had me a bit confused. It appeared from the instructions, if I did indeed follow them correctly, that the inner workings of the bust cross-over of the lining would be against the body, iso facing against the inside of the garment, and therefore not visible if the garment was flipped inside-out. Suffice it to say that I eventually followed my own direction, and acheived a finish that I was happy with.
 
 
A very distinctive dress, but my pet babies felt they also needed to make an appearance and show themselves off!
 
The something yet to come....
 
My hand knitted hundred percent cotton jersey has taken a back seat for quite a few weeks now........owing to my husband's accident and renovations at home. But I have now got to the point where the dust has literally and figuratively settled! Remember my faut pas with the one sleeve, which I reknitted? - I mentioned it here in an earlier post!
 
 
I have blocked the pieces
 
The next step is to sew it up and then follow Carolyn's instructions on dyeing it a more appealing colour. Cream does nothing for me!
An update to follow on the finished product.