Another summer dress...
I had a choice, one thursday night in August, of either cleaning my room before my mom came to visit for the weekend, or break out the sewing machine.
Can you guess which one I chose?...
After the success of my black heart dress, I bought enough fabric at Purl to make 3 more dresses this summer. On that particular thursday night, I remembered that I had this cute New Look pattern (I had seen Yai Ann's pin tucked top and want to give it a whirl) and even cuter fabric.
Anyway, it took me 7 hours, from 6pm until 1am to make this (not counting the one hour I spent on the phone with my friend Liisa, who has cast on for the Minimalist Cardigan and had a few questions).
Pattern specs:
Pattern: New Look 6239 view A, with belt.
Fabric: from Heather Ross' Lighting Bugs and Other Mysteries collection, "Goldfish". Check it out: all the goldfish have names! I have studied them closely and come to the conclusion that I cannot pick a favorite among them.
(OK, fine, I love Malcolm, who dared to turn around and show his butt, and Bubbles's confused expression makes me giggle).
Mods: Why are sewing pattern sizes so baffling? I take my measurements, compare them with what's on the envelope, then deduce what size I'm supposed to make. So far, so good. And then the garment inevitably ends up huge! Why? Is it done on purpose? Do they add a lot of ease? Do they think that sewers will underestimate their measurements? Do they think that it's better to have a dress that's too big and that you can take in rather than a garment that is too small? I had to completely re-do the top orange part... Very annoying.
Check the pintucks! A little fiddly, but so worth it! 
First impression: Well, I must admit that once I finished the dress and tried it on, I panicked. You see, without the belt, it looks like an old-fashioned night gown (think Little House on the Prairie). Good thing my roommate Jess insisted I make the belt (I was ready to ditch the whole thing and go to bed). The finished dress, with belt, looks lovely, and has already gotten a lot of wear. Oh, and the Heather Ross fabric is fantastic: somehow it's a crisp cotton and it's soft, all at the same time. This dress is a winner!
And now that you're wondering whether I have crossed over to the sewing side... Well, I *did* buy a sewing-themed bag at Brooklyn Industries. But look! I still take my Misocrafty knitting pouch with me everywhere.
