Hello everyone!
Here's my latest creation- an 'emergency' speed sew to keep me cool for the last couple of weeks' high temperatures. While I've made a Staple Dress previously for a friend and liked the style, it wasn't high on my to-sew list until the heatwave. Suddenly I needed something office-appropriate, light and body-skimming and I needed it fast, so the April Rhodes Staple Dress jumped straight to the top of said list! The photos are a little rushed for this one as I was a bit self-conscious in such a public place, and the dress is in its third wear by this point (it was needed for a reason and has served its purpose well!), but you get the gist- there isn't much to dwell on detail-wise with a make like this anyway.
While I didn't quite manage to make this up in an evening as I'd hoped it came together pretty quickly after tracing my size. Based on my measurements I went large for the bodice graded down to medium for the waist and hips, but think that perhaps next time I would just go medium all over as there is perhaps a little too much ease on top. This is made up in viscose I picked up for £2.50 per metre in a lunch break jaunt to Mermaid Fabrics- as it was an 'emergency' dress I wasn't in love with the pattern but quite like that to me it's somewhat reminiscent of Japanese gift paper.
It's such a nice easy pattern- a front and a back piece with the waist shaping created by shirring. You're free to add as much or little as you like depending on how cinched in you'd like your waist to be- I went with 4 lines of shirring for this one, which I believe is the same I did for my friend Holly's version. I'm not sure if more shirring would have been more flattering, or whether it would spoil the drape. I quite like the back view but feel I look a little frumpy from the front, but that may be because I'd just stuffed myself with Caribbean takeaway (hence the can of Ting you see) so wasn't looking at my most svelte when these snaps were taken.
Have you ever had to whip something up really quickly to cope with a change of weather? What are your favourite quick sews?
Until next time,
NorseOtter xxx
Here's my latest creation- an 'emergency' speed sew to keep me cool for the last couple of weeks' high temperatures. While I've made a Staple Dress previously for a friend and liked the style, it wasn't high on my to-sew list until the heatwave. Suddenly I needed something office-appropriate, light and body-skimming and I needed it fast, so the April Rhodes Staple Dress jumped straight to the top of said list! The photos are a little rushed for this one as I was a bit self-conscious in such a public place, and the dress is in its third wear by this point (it was needed for a reason and has served its purpose well!), but you get the gist- there isn't much to dwell on detail-wise with a make like this anyway.
While I didn't quite manage to make this up in an evening as I'd hoped it came together pretty quickly after tracing my size. Based on my measurements I went large for the bodice graded down to medium for the waist and hips, but think that perhaps next time I would just go medium all over as there is perhaps a little too much ease on top. This is made up in viscose I picked up for £2.50 per metre in a lunch break jaunt to Mermaid Fabrics- as it was an 'emergency' dress I wasn't in love with the pattern but quite like that to me it's somewhat reminiscent of Japanese gift paper.
It's such a nice easy pattern- a front and a back piece with the waist shaping created by shirring. You're free to add as much or little as you like depending on how cinched in you'd like your waist to be- I went with 4 lines of shirring for this one, which I believe is the same I did for my friend Holly's version. I'm not sure if more shirring would have been more flattering, or whether it would spoil the drape. I quite like the back view but feel I look a little frumpy from the front, but that may be because I'd just stuffed myself with Caribbean takeaway (hence the can of Ting you see) so wasn't looking at my most svelte when these snaps were taken.
What else can I say about this nice and breezy, beautifully simple dress? I made up the dropped hem version, just to make it a bit more different from the one I made up for my friend. I like it, but I'm not sure if I handled it perfectly symmetrically! I'm not the most patient when it comes to hems- when the end's in sight I do tend to rush to the finish line so they often let me down. And, I'm not showing them off here, but I also made inseam pockets. In such a lightweight fabric I probably shouldn't have bothered as they added to the construction time and actually are too lightweight to be useable for subtle phone storage- even an Oyster card drags the waist down a little!
Have you ever had to whip something up really quickly to cope with a change of weather? What are your favourite quick sews?
Until next time,
NorseOtter xxx
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