Fringe Dress

I want to like sewing clothes more than I do. I'm so tall it's hard to find things that fit properly, and it's nice to be able to make something you want instead of trying to find it. But, quilting really has my heart. Still, I sew clothes somewhat regularly, and this is my most recent make. 

I bought the Fringe dress pattern (finally hopping on that train, it's such a popular pattern!) during a sale at Chalk and Notch. I was specifically looking for a pattern to use for a cut of linen I was given by Harmony Fabric in Provo for winning a giveaway! I won 3 yards, and it's such a lovely light blue linen. Since I'm tall, I had to be careful about pattern selection, since I need to add so much length generally, I couldn't risk running out of fabric. The fringe dress was well within the fabric requirements, I think it specifies only 2-1/2 yards or so, so I felt like I'd have plenty. Plus, there are so many fringe dress pictures on the internet in all sorts of different fabric selections, and I felt confident it would look great in my linen. I snagged a paper copy during a sale they had, and eventually got around to sewing it. 

Honestly, I think this is among the quickest I've ever sewn up a planned project, haha. I got the fabric in April, and I sewed up the dress a few weeks ago, in August. I tend to stock up on fabric and/or patterns when they're on sale and then sew them when I'm feeling inspired or need it for a specific reason.

Maybe my reason just came up quicker than usual; I made it for family pictures, which we just did a few days ago. 

Part of the reason I dawdle is I dislike making muslins. I know it's so important and definitely not wasted time, but it feels like it. And, half the reason I like to make clothes is so they fit me, but what that means is often I don't fit in a straight size, so then I have to decide which size to start with, etc etc. And then tracing the pattern...I don't love prep work. 

Still, I persevered, and added the length I thought I'd need to check, and was pleasantly surprised it fit pretty well straight out of the envelope. So, I set about making it in the linen. 

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. I opted to straighten the hem out, and I made the v-neck with buttons and added the sleeve tabs. I love that I didn't have to adjust the neckline at all for good coverage (I'm not into showing off cleavage, sorry! I get cold, what can I say?), and I love the ties detail. I opted to add mine to the back darts because it seems like such an interesting detail. However, now that I've made it, I think I probably should have made it a size larger. I was really thrown off because the muslin (and the dress) genuinely look like the right size. It doesn't feel too snug when I wear it, except for perhaps across my arm, but that's easily explained by the drop sleeve construction. HOWEVER--because the buttons only extend to the waist, which is flatteringly situated just a bit above your true waist, the opening isn't *quite* big enough to comfortably put on and take off. I kinda feel like a gymnast every time I wear it, and I'm always worried I'm going to pull something (I am 40, after all...) or rip it. It might be my fault--I left in the basting stitches from gathering the skirt. But, I don't logically think it would do that. If I could take them out easily now and check, I would, but I serged the seam so it's nice and finished. I don't think those stitches are coming out, haha. Once I really struggled, I realized that most dresses take the opening down past the waist, so I feel like it's a slight design flaw and I'm surprised no one else has complained. 

The other disappointing thing about this dress is actually the fabric. When I got it, it was so soft, I was so excited to wear it. And it IS very soft. But, it is a deadstock linen and I'm learning that you just need to be careful with deadstocks. This one had some really thin spots where the weave was uneven and just thin. So I carefully cut around it as best I could. But it just seems like kinda shoddy fabric, which I find really disappointing. I'm really glad I won it in a giveaway and didn't purchase it, because I would have been upset at the quality. I don't know how long it will last with the quality of the fabric, but I really like the dress even still and will probably make another. It wasn't a difficult sew at all, and again I love the neckline and the ties detail.