i love plaid. maybe it's my growing up in the grunge 90s that has solidified my love of all things plaid. i lived in oversized flannel button-downs (though why i ever thought XXL was "my size" will forever remain a mystery). that said, i've wanted a plaid flannel dress for as long as i can remember. since i haven't done much winter sewing ever... now is the time!
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| if you go to the source, check out the neckline treatment. it looks like exposed bias binding with the raw edge left to fray slightly. i have to steal that idea. [source] |
i did some online browsing and found this cute dress from j.crew. lo and behold i happen to have a nearly identical pattern in my stash (minus the weird dart at center front. who wants a CF dart?). i love the shape; it's classic, modern, and versatile. and as it so happens, my birthday is *ahem* soon and what did i find in my mailbox, but a gift certificate to buy fabric! ah, my family knows me too well.
hopefully this will be my holiday dress for the season. not that i have many holiday occasions (and none of them are fancy, hence the plaid flannel). but, well... do i really need an excuse? i thought not! i've also had that nagging in the back of my head about making a well-fitted sloper from which i can devise a myriad of patterns. again, now is the time! i am even choosing to do this dress with a 3/4 length sleeve. i realize that sleeve fitting may do me in, and there is a good chance i'll ultimately abandon the notion of having sleeves, but gosh darn it i'm gonna try. the only other sleeved dress i've made for myself was my colette macaron and, admittedly, the sleeves don't fit. i can barely raise my arms in that dress. harrumph.
mccalls 5927 has mixed reviews over on pattern review, but that doesn't really deter me. i plan to muslin it and hopefully walk away with something that fits. it's a single dart bodice with a high neckline and sleeve; which should make this pattern an ideal starting point. as a bonus, this pattern is already drafted for different cup sizes. score! fitting the bodice shouldn't be too challenging. the sleeves... well let's hope i can get that to work out. i'm super set on having a dress with sleeves.
any brilliant thoughts on sleeve fitting in a woven?
any holiday sewing plans for yourself or others? thanksgiving is only two weeks away!
—lisa g.
