Friday, May 16, 2014

Sorry I disappeared. I have been sewing in my wonderful new space but haven't been able to get back into the reviewing or blogging mode. I have 20 or 30 projects done in the last few months with no record. Shame on me.

But I must tell you about this project.  I know you all think this dress is a giant muumuu so why bother with it. Even if you don't like very over sized full dresses this pattern has some wonderful elements that make it worth buying. To me, the appliqué and sleeves are delightful details that make the pattern a must have. The appliqué is done by stitching continuous bias to the dress on top of a piece (the stripe) already applied to the dress. Then yarn is couched on top of the bias with a zigzag stitch.

The envelope description is "oversized, pullover dress has side front welt pockets, sleeves bands, tie ends forming drape, wrong side may show, appliqué , trim, decorative stitching, topstitching, and stitched hems". 
I measure size 16 or 18. I cut size 10 and took 2 inches out of each side seam for an 8 inch reduction around. It is still huge. 
The pattern photo doesn't highlight the contrast much as they used very close colors. There are 3 different fabrics plus yarn used in this.
I used a medium weight linen for the main fabric, light weight for sleeves and appliqué , and a rayon crinkle for the second contrast (under the appliqué ). All of these, even the yarn trim, were in my stash. The light linen and rayon were remnants. This design uses a lot of fabric so it was nice to find everything I needed on my shelves. I didn't have enough fabric to cut the pockets so they aren't there. I didn't shorten the length at all so you can see that if you are taller than me (5'3") you might want to lengthen it.
Koos gives us lots to enjoy in this pattern.
 I hope to use the sleeves and embellishment technique again. I might even make the whole dress in a more drapey fabric for a very different look.