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.
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:
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.
Love that style...very pretty dress (I like brown too!)
ReplyDeleteI 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)
ReplyDeleteThat dress looks fabulous on you!!! I love your haircut, too. Don't you just love children--out of the mouths of babes.
ReplyDeleteWell 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! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks good on you! Good luck finding shoes!
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great on you! Very nice job and I love the wrinkles on the belly! :)
ReplyDeleteSo 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!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot less harsh than my nephews are to me...lol
ReplyDeleteYour dress is fabulous.
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...
ReplyDeleteYou have such a great sense of style. I'm not fond of brown (except for chocolate) but this looks wonderful on you.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty dress. I too wear alot of brown. Kids do say some pretty silly things though (that need repeating). g
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteA 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!