Sundress: Study in Stripes

I love the scoop neck and pockets of Pattern Runway’s “Gathered Sundress” pattern, so I made it up for the third time.

Red and white striped seersucker seemed like the perfect lightweight sundress fabric, so I cut it out, playing with the stripe placement.

Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten that my previous version had some serious fitting issues, and I charged ahead, over-confident.  The major problem is that the pattern is 2″ too small around the waist for my body, so I had to get creative to salvage this dress.

I added 1″ strips to either side of the zipper to add 2″ to the waist, while maintaining the original size of the neckline.

Besides some drag lines, I’m happy with the result and even like the added back details.  The side seams are pulling to the front, so I definitely want to adjust the pattern and give this another try.  But even with all my mistakes, this dress is super comfortable and will see a lot of wear this summer.

Curtains for Sleep

Hello!  Just a quick post to say hi; I’m getting settled in Texas.  I saved the sewing room for unpacking last, lest I get distracted and neglect the rest of the house.  But it’s in usable condition now.

See that blue cutting mat below?  Well, I warped it badly by storing it upright behind a bookcase in CA.  It turns out the Texas heat is good for something though: I left the mat lying on our balcony for about 3 days in the sun and heat, and it’s about 99% flat again!!  It sure is a lot easier to cut on a flat mat.

I was in a hurry to make curtains for our bedroom–there’s a street light directly outside our window that lights up the whole apartment at night.  I ordered some white swiss dot cotton and black out drapery lining from frabric.com, and I was delighted when it was delivered a day early.   I couldn’t wait to get some curtains up.

I kept the layers separate so that I could tie the lining back by itself.  I like the back lighting on the swiss dot.

The lining does a wonderful job blocking out light, and I slept much better last night.

I’ve got a bedskirt in the works too, but I won’t bore you with the details.

Maybe you’d like to see a seersucker sundress though?  Hancock’s fabric store is barely a mile from my apartment, and they seem to have sales frequently–40% off seersucker cottons, yes please, just what I need to survive this heat.