Grey and green pt.2

Well underway with this dress! I am so far very happy with the results. I like to think that this green is flattering to me, and the fabric is oh so soft! I worry about durability but oh hey.

So I am at this point:

I still need to serge the join between bodice and waistband, then move on to the skirt. Very straightforward from here on. I finally used gathers under the bust instead of darts, it looked much better.

For this project I am trying to exercise restraint. I am a very impatient person and I rush into things looking for instant gratification. Quality suffers. My joints suffer (perhaps stress makes me tense up). So I decided to breathe deeply and do one thing at a time, a little every day (I even cleaned up the work surface -read dining room table- every day! yay me). Day 1 I bought the fabric and cut the pattern, Day 2 I cut the fabric, Day 3 (yesterday) I put the bodice and sleeves together and attached them to the bodice, Day 5, which is today, is for the waistband. I got home quite early today and I put the waistband together carefully, still feeling fresh and relaxed I decided to take a little break and then continue and attach it to the bodice. I am now taking another break, and considering finishing the dress today. Or perhaps I should just serge this last seam and leave it for tomorrow. This formula has worked so beautifully perhaps I should continue at the same pace :) I'll see.

For this dress, I originally wanted to use a waistband based on this dress (source unknown unfortunately, Google picture search was fruitless as well), but with alternating colours. I decided to take it a bit easier on the waistband and try this later on another dress, meanwhile "training" with a similar but simpler waistband, like this vintage image. So it turned out like this:

The lining is peeking out. I learned a few things to make it easier and better next time, so I am glad I went with the simpler one.

I have been saving pictures for quite a long time to use as inspiration for sewing these jersey dresses (and recently uploaded many of them here, since then I just pin to this board what I find around that I like).
I have a lot of woven fabric in the closet but it has been completely forgotten as of late. The jersey dresses are flattering, extremely comfortable and easy to wear (dresses in general I guess, just pick one and some shoes and you are done, but since ready to wear dresses very rarely fit me I didn't really know!). They do wear off faster than your average woven fabric, but the other pros make up for it, I think. And they are so much easier to make! At least I have found a formula that works very well for me. Narrow shoulders and small bust means I can get away with no closures whatsoever (I must admit zippers are my bane). I just slip all of these dresses over the head. I like fitted clothes, on the upper part of my body anyway, and these stretch a lot, so I basically modify my base pattern, which was based on a combination of garments that fit with some negative ease, on a rather freehand manner, cut the fabric adding the seam allowance as I cut (oh the horror :D), sew it up, and it nearly always fits. When in doubt I baste and make adjustments, which are usually none to minimal. The skirts are always A line since I have wide and heavy hips. Easy peasy.

It turns also rather cheap. Clothes here are quite expensive, at least the ones with a nice material and finishing are. Add to that that I don't find dresses that fit me or colours that flatter me. Depending on the dress (sleeves, facings etc) I use between 3 and 1,5 metres of fabric, viscose or cotton jersey, which costs between 10 and 15€ per metre (fabric is not too cheap here either). This one dress was around 20€ including thread and lining, and I think that's a pretty good deal!

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