Snow is falling, carols are playing… and I made a dress!
It’s my first ever project with sweatshirt fleece, wich makes for a very cosy and comfy winter dress. It’s sleeveless, worn over a never-blogged Renfrew cowl… As a kid I would have called this a “jumper”… but I haven’t heard anyone say that in years! (Maybe because they aren’t as popular now as in the 80’s?) I know a “jumper” is a “sweater” elsewhere… so what would you call this?
The pattern is the Go Anywhere dress by Sewn Square One, which I sewed up in bright cotton this summer:
This time I wanted to play with the direction of the stripes to make it more fun. I’ll be honest - It was pure magical fluke that the stripes met so perfectly in a right angle at the hips! I wouldn’t really even know how to go about planning that! Here’s how the pattern alignment works on my tush…
I started making this more than a month ago, and really enjoyed trying out some new techniques, like top stitching along each seam. I ended up using knit seam stabiliser along each of the princess seams, because otherwise the fabric stretched out in the direction I was sewing and the horizontal stripes ended up crooked! I made a facing for the neckline, but over-enthusastically cut the neckline a little lower than I should have, which makes for a drafty neck! Luckily this cowl Renfrew solves that.I did think about making sleeves as well, but I was worried that would be either too bulky or wouldn’t have enough range of movement. I hate when poorly designed sleeves make the whole dress lift up every time you raise your arms! Sleeveless also meant that I could finish this up quickly and take it off the dress form where it had been taunting me for weeks!
I’ve been wearing it all day today - It’s my ideal weekend dress. Feels like PJs, but looks decent if I meet students at the grocery store! In fact, I was so excited to have a new cosy dress that as soon as I finished it I whipped up a Renfrew dress to add to the collection! Photos soon, I promise! (Though probably inside - It was about 3 degrees when we took these on our way to do errands!)
Another side effect of the cold weather is that I’m starting to think of making Christmas ornaments and gifts. There is something about Christmas that makes me feel connected to Laura Ingalls and Anne Shirley and all my favourite heroines of yore… The dream of sitting cosily by a fire, hand-sewing and looking forward to giving handmade gifts!
One thing I notice already is the the hem stretched out a bit as I wear it… Any tips and tricks for stabilising knit hems?
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