So, a few months ago, I was contacted by Nadja, of Schnittchen Patterns, who asked if I would like to be the Aussie in Sewing around the World 2018. Such an honour to be asked! and of course I was delighted! I’m the designated Miss February, hehe.
I was kinda like, hmmm February … and of course, Valentine’s Day. Pink, clearly… I mean, I love pink anyway, so really I don’t even need an excuse to make something pink. But it’s nice having one!
Usually on Valentine’s Day, we’re in the habit of going for a picnic together; it’s such a lovely time of year here for a picnic! warm balmy nights with pink and apricot and orange and navy blue sunsets. I make up a nice basket with the finest goodies Coles has to offer; I’m thinking smoked salmon salad, strawberries and chockies, with a bottle of pink bubbly- clearly got pink on the brain here, but naturellement! – and a rug… we carry it down to the foreshore, set ourselves up, plastic flutes in hand to watch the sun go down, with a thousand city lights across the water, twinkling into being like fairy lights. Yep, pretty nice. Should make the effort more than once a year!
Anyway, I pictured myself clad appropriately in something super romantic, ladylike and feminine… I chose the Schnittchen Sally dress pattern, because it’s nothing if not romantic, ladylike and feminine… a true wrap dress with ultra-oversized pockets and a tulip skirt; a sweet and slightly old-fashioned in a good way, beautifully drape-y design… my favourite part is the bodice, with those lovely gentle gathers falling gracefully from the shoulders.
For the fabric, I picked out this crepe from my stash, originally bought from Spotlight last year sometime. I bought it with no plan in mind, just because I loved the delicate, Chinoiserie vibe of the print… and the colours; deep mossy green boughs against a beautiful warm, peachy-pink sky… this is basically my perfect pink.
Actually, I’ve been very inspired by a more ladylike vibe and silhouette lately, pinning tea length and floaty floral dresses like they’re going out of fashion… oh wait, well you know what I mean! Honestly, I think floral is having a real moment. Although, you know fashion; dichotomous is pretty much the thing. I myself am into romantic one day, quirky the next, sculptural and monochromatic the day after that. I often wonder how the defining look of our times is going to be depicted; 10, 20, 30 years in the future. Maybe the skinny jean/loose tee/moto jacket look, and yet, my Vogue magazines for the past year have zig-zagged wildly over several different extremes; the sharp yet comfortable, post-modern, luxe ath-leisure look, the oversized, minimal look, the floaty, floral, feminine look. I personally am very much more excited by these looks than the skinny jean one.
Making this dress was pretty easy, once I’d nutted out the waistband design. I didn’t have quite enough fabric to self-line the pockets, so used a portion of coffee-coloured polyacetate lining fabric for that bit; otherwise I used up every last scrap of the crepe, which is an enormously satisfying thing to do in the sewing world. The instructions are translated from the German and are … interesting, and took me a little while to wrap my head around them. I don’t mean that in a negative way. I actually like to be stretched mentally in my sewing, get my brain buzzing about with different ways of thinking about it, and it’s not so often that pattern instructions make me stop and THINK. These ones did! It’s funny, I’ve been sewing for aaaaages and have always experimented with lots of different pattern companies, but pretty much everyone employs the same lingo and you can’t help but fall into a bit of a rut. I mean, for example, you come to expect particular words to be used to describe particular procedures in sewing, and when those particular words are not used, when another, unexpected word is used instead, it can throw you for a bit of a loop. Speaking kinda generally there, but specifically, the construction of this dress is a straightforward affair, it’s just that you have to read, and comprehend, and not just expect everything to be written using the exact same set of prescribed terms. It’s actually one of the things I enjoy about using other-language patterns.
I don’t know why I always include a rear shot… it’s rarely an interesting sight and I always think I look awful. But anyway, I guess about half the people around you will catch sight of it whether they want to or not, so I guess it’s a good idea to see it for yourself too. It’s since taking pictures of my rear view for the blog that I’ve learnt pattern placement on the back of your clothing is JUST AS IMPORTANT a consideration as the front. Happily, this is a pretty lovely print, with little possibility of an unfortunate, accidental bullseye.
I am in two minds about the hem length on this one though. Part of me is wondering if I need to lop off a few inches…
HUGE plus, the pockets are actually HUGE (satisfied sigh) You could stash a kitten in there, easily… #don’tevenknowwhyIthoughtofthatone #leavingit
I consider myself Valentine-ready! Pass the champers! (hic!)
Details:
Dress; schnittchen patterns Sally dress, in a printed crepe, quite crisp, thin, drapes beautifully
Sandals; Zomp, from Zomp shoes
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