But on the way I got distracted . . .

Does this ever happen to you?  There's this dress I want to sew but it's going to take some experimentation.  I got started on it last weekend and the first effort was a failure in part due to the fabric choice.  But I thought that the fabric might work better as something else . . . which led to a different idea . . .

I tend to be a somewhat rigid meticulous structured person.  One of the things I like about sewing is that it gives me a healthy outlet for these tendencies.  If I can be exacting about a buttonhole or the fit of a bodice, I'm less likely to be exacting in annoying ways (closet organization, room tidiness).  But I also like that it gives me the opportunity to follow creative ideas and play with them, especially in my personal sewing time (the deadlines are mine so I can break them if I want).

One of my goals this year is to replicate a dress I spied in a Garnet Hill catalog:



Garnett Hill Athena Dress

I love the sort of faux peplum/draping under the midriff band - just my kind of detail.  When I saw Cake's Tiramisu pattern, I knew it was the perfect starting point.  So I sat down to give it a go last weekend.

For some reason, I decided at the last minute to try it out with a slinky fabric I bought from EmmaOneSock.com ages ago.  I have a lot of this fabric because I orginally intended it for a different project that I have since decided really isn't for me.  I planned to do the dress with a ponte knit, but I didn't wanted to cut into the real stuff for my draft.  Using the slinky fabric was not a great decision.  I guess this is what happens when you start sewing at 10pm on a Friday night after having a couple cocktails with your husband . . .

So this top isn't a disaster but it's not great either.  Just barely wearable, mainly because there's just too many seams for this slinky fabric. 

But then I realized that the slinky fabric was perfect for one of my all time favorite patterns, Simplicity 2580 (I think I have now made this pattern 10 times).  The only changes I made to the pattern were to cut the bodice on the bias and use fold-over elastic to finish the back neck and arms.

Then I remembered this cute top from Boden:

Boden Twist Jersey Top

I'm still in the midst of my love affair with cowl necklines, so I didn't want to do away with that, but I borrowed the band from my New Look 0172 pattern and cut a front and back version (the orginal pattern only has the band on the front, which I think looks silly).  I wasn't very technical about this - I simply held the band over my Simplicty 2580 pattern piece and folded under the center front/back edge so that it was roughly 1/2" smaller.  And I've got something new!

 

 

 

I know you might think this looks like two new tops, but the first is for my dear friend Candice as she starts a new decade (I won't tell you which one).  It's a good thing I like her so much or I'd be tempted to keep it for myself!  The dark purple top is a rayon-blend matte jersey in concord grape from GorgeousFabrics.com - it has an almost crepe-y feel and only 20% stretch.  The firecracker top is a poly/lycra fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics with 60% stretch.  Both fabrics are still available if you're interested!



 

Now that I've got that out of my system, I'm ready to get back to the dress.  Any one have suggestion for how to do that draped peplum thing under the midriff??