Inspiration: Girly Leather-Accent Dresses

I've been communing with my inner Rock Goddess lately, and she really wants a dress with leather accents. But my inner Girly Girl is demanding a feminine retro shape.

Cambie, Take Two

I loved my first Cambie so much, that I immediately cut out a second! I used a straight neckline this time, and I think I prefer it to the sweetheart. I had this Japanese double gauze in my stash and it was perfect. It's brown with aqua dots on it.

As a brunette, I would have totally avoided this color. But as a pinkhead, I think it's perfect. I've realized that I had very set ideas about what colors I could wear, and it's fun getting to turn my rules upside down. BTW, this pic was taken just after I'd gotten my hair colored and blown out. Hence the smoothness and lack of roots.

 Armpit flap! Sexy!

A couple construction notes. I spent some time making this in the studio, so I didn't have fusible with me. So instead of using a strip of fusible to stabilize the pocket opening, I used a little strip of the fabric's selvage. It worked perfectly! In fact, I think I prefer it to fusible since it's so strong. That pocket is NEVER going to stretch out of shape.

On the inside, I used a Freespirit voile solid in perfectly coordinating aqua as a lining and it is amazing--though, at $14 a yard, not for every project. (See my post about summer linings here.) Again, I added a front facing so the lining wouldn't peek out the top.

Hey, did you notice my shoes? I went for the Worishofer wedges, and OMG. They are so comfy.

In shop news! I got more of this beautiful Ascher mint bow print, which is a miracle. My supplier told me he was out, and then unexpectedly got more! It sold out so quickly last time, and I'm dubious I'll be able to get any more in this color again.

I saved 4 yards of it for myself, and I think it's going to be my next project. I want to make Vogue 8789 with it, since I think the ribbon will form a cool chevron on the bodice. I'll just have to be very strategic with it, so I don't end up with boob bows.

Cambie Dress in Gingham

Guys, I love sewing. I suppose that should be obvious by now. But does it ever just hit you, out of nowhere, how absolutely madly in love with this craft you are? That's been happening to me a lot lately. And I know it's a direct result of a recent resolution I made to spend more time sewing for myself, from other designers' patterns. I've been trying to get back to my sewing roots recently--picking out a pattern, fantasizing over fabric, poring over the directions.

I picked up Sewaholic's Cambie dress pattern recently, feeling like I was the only person in the sewing blogosphere who hadn't made it. And the pattern did not disappoint!

I made a muslin of the whole dress--pockets and everything--to really test the fit. I made a size 10 and ending up taking in the hips quite a bit--that was a new experience for me! (Sewaholic Patterns are designed for a pear-shaped figure, so the proportions are slightly different from other patterns.) The fit in the bust was perfect, no dart adjustment needed.

I made the dress in a small turquoise gingham.

I decided to cut the waistband on the bias, to break up the check pattern a bit.

The dress is lined in white siri, a cotton poly blend lining fabric. I added a facing to the front neckline, so that the white wouldn't peek out the top of the dress at all. Here's the inside.

As many have noted, Sewaholic's instructions are fabulous, and this dress had an emphasis on machine finishing. The only thing I did by hand was to tack down the lining to the dress at the waistline. It was nice to be sewing out of my usual comfort zone--I even used an invisible zipper! (I have a slightly irrational dislike of them, preferring a more vintage-y lapped zipper in a dress.) I feel so modern.

Yesterday was the first very warm day we've had, and I wore the dress to my knitting group. I can already tell that it's going to be a summer time staple. (I confess that I've already cut a second version.)

Other than that, I've been doing lots of home dec sewing. I recently developed an obsession with the idea of having piles of blankets all over the house (Jeff is convinced it's some Freudian thing), and I've been working on building up the blanket stash.

We did some antiquing in New Paltz last weekend, and I found this amazing mannequin head. Isn't she beautiful?