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Simplicity 3775 - Brown knit dress

Daughter (5 years old): What is that for, mom?
Me: It's a new dress for me.  Do you like it?
Daughter:  Well, I guess.  But, it would be better if it wasn't brown.
Me:  Hmmm.  I kind of like brown.
Daughter: Okay.  Why does it have all those wrinkles on your belly?
Me: That's called ruching.  That's how the dress is supposed to look.
Daughter: Oh.  I think that is a little silly.


This fabric has been in my stash for at least three years.  I had enough of it to make a dress out of it and liked this pattern, but thought that it might turn out too boring.  Then I saw a picture of a celebrity in a magazine in a dress that was remarkably similar - chocolate brown, wrap style, A-line skirt.  And I liked it.  So, I gave the fabric and pattern marriage my blessing.

In this picture I saw, the celebrity was wearing some killer shoes.  I think that helped the dress not be boring on her.  As you can see, I have no such shoes:

 I guess I'll have to work on that before I can wear it this fall.

This is a good pattern.  It has been reviewed at PR 65 times.  It did come together pretty quickly.  I sewed all the front pieces together and all the back pieces together and then joined them at the side seams to make fitting easier.  I cut a size 8.  The fabric I used isn't very stretchy, so a 10 probably would have been a better choice. 
I found myself craving brownies while I was working on this dress.  Somehow I managed to not give in to the craving (mostly because I would have had to give up sewing time to bake them), but I'm wondering if it was the chocolate color of the fabric.  I really enjoy chocolate, but this was more intense than usual.  Perhaps this is a hypothesis worth testing... 
I'll be entering this in the fair in the "Dress - winter" category.
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Comments

  1. MaryissewfastAugust 27, 2009 at 11:17 PM

    Love that style...very pretty dress (I like brown too!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. RachealAugust 27, 2009 at 11:56 PM

    I think this dress is a winner, i personally don't think the brown is boring cause now you have left the option open to be able to dress it up with a killer pair of heels and some bling bling or if you are not feeling in such a playful mood you can play it down but still look stunning. Job well done :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. RachelAugust 28, 2009 at 8:01 AM

    That dress looks fabulous on you!!! I love your haircut, too. Don't you just love children--out of the mouths of babes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sherilyn -Dominee HuisvrouwAugust 28, 2009 at 8:19 AM

    Well since you were thinking a size 10 might have been better than the size 8 you made, it's probably a good thing you didn't succomb to the brownie craving! :)

    Looks good on you! Good luck finding shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amanda S.August 28, 2009 at 8:48 AM

    Great minds think alike! I just made this one, and now I'm doing MC 5859 which you just did. Yours looks great on you. I think this style is so flattering. It'll be a wonderful wardrobe basic for fall/winter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 28, 2009 at 10:56 AM

    I am about to make this same dress this weekend. It looks great! I wear a 4 in RTW clothing and am trying to decide whether to make the 8 or the 10. I am leaning towards the 10 because I have kind of broad shoulders and I can always take in the sides if I construct it as you did. Any opinion from you? Love your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  7. judyAugust 28, 2009 at 1:20 PM

    This looks great on you! Very nice job and I love the wrinkles on the belly! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. KID, MDAugust 28, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    So beautiful! I just stumbled across your blog and just wanted to say hello. Your work is amazing. I am wanting that dress as well. It looks so great on everyone who has made it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. SusanAugust 28, 2009 at 4:20 PM

    That's a lot less harsh than my nephews are to me...lol

    Your dress is fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  10. MarybethAugust 28, 2009 at 6:10 PM

    You look stunning in that dress - I have a brown dress, and I wear turquoise jewelry with it sometimes, and sometimes I wear a burgundy cami under it for color... Your's is really pretty, though, all on it's own - the rouching makes it dressy...

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  11. JoyceAugust 28, 2009 at 9:08 PM

    You have such a great sense of style. I'm not fond of brown (except for chocolate) but this looks wonderful on you.

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  12. TanyaAugust 30, 2009 at 6:56 PM

    I love this dress, I made it in a floral print. Yours looks great. I also love the vest, I think you choose the right side.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    Very pretty dress. I too wear alot of brown. Kids do say some pretty silly things though (that need repeating). g

    ReplyDelete
  14. TracyKMAugust 16, 2011 at 7:39 PM

    I actually came here through googling swimsuit/tankini posts, but then started to browse around cause I liked what I see and I like reading other Canadian blogs.
    A couple weeks ago I decided to try my hand at designing a VERY similar dress (it never occured to me to look for a 'real' pattern as I do have to adjust them so much anyway). However, my midriff rouching is terrible looking. What's the secret? Your's looks great!

    ReplyDelete

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