A New Summer Dress!

I finished my halter dress and am fairly pleased with it. Pics maybe today or tomorrow. I cannot find my one-and-only halter bra and am cranky about it so that puts me in a little pickle. Can't wear the dress without that bra so I will need to go on a hunting expedition today.

My only issue is that it turned out to not be as long as I wanted it to be. In fact, I left this ITY type of knit unhemmed and the edge was cut with my rotary cutter so it's not going to matter. IF I had my new serger, I would have just done a rolled hem on the edge, but a clean-cut, unfinished edge is similar to some RTW hems I've seen as of late.

Today highs are in the low 90's. I think I'll get out my bathing suit UFO from last year. Of course, I'd like to make an LBD and enter it into this year's local fair. Maybe enter both? We'll see. My lingerie set is a fine piece of work, and I'd like to enter that too, but it might be a little "racy" for the judges? I don't know. We'll see...

Pics are coming in a couple of days...

Progress on the Halter Dress

Progress is being made on my Amy Butler halter dress. These are pics from last night.

The front top and front skirt:

The back. No zipper as called for in the pattern because I'm using a very nice knit with good stretch. I did run clear elastic in a casing on the upper back edge to prevent "loose droop". I did this on my previous halter top from this pattern--a necessity IMO. Even with altering the back to fit, I think it still needs some elastic snugness to look and feel just right.

Here's a closeup of the edgestitching on the front. The knit won't hold a press well, so this stitching was a must.

I did get an hour's worth of time to work on it this afternoon. Right now I'm tweaking the side seams and may pull up more elastic on the upper back edge. It's pretty close to done, and I think I'm liking it. Don't know for sure because DD#2 backed up into my full length mirror and it cracked it several places. Gee...it was just months old! Not have a full-length mirror for sewing is the pits.

I'll leave you with pics of our sleeping beauty--Jake. He falls asleep in strange positions and has the neck thing going on in each one. Either falling off the edge or hanging down from his tube on his tree. His first birthday is quickly approaching, and we're planning a little party for him :) . Cake, special cat treats and cat toys.

Marriage of Pattern and Fabric

Yesterday I posted about my lack of sewing due to not knowing what to make with the fabric in my stash. But with these horribly hot temps in the NE, I have decided I need a halter dress! I'm going to take my already-altered Amy Butler Cabo Halter top and convert into a dress. The fabric I've chosen is the purple/cream/brown paisley print knit purchased a few years ago from Metro Textiles during a PR NYC Weekend.



Yes, the halter is for a woven, but I altered this pattern to work with both fabrics. The dress will be long, but not maxi length, and lean with a side slit. At least that was my original thought. It is possible to go with an A-line, but still leaning toward the long, lean look with this. Most halter dress styles I see have fuller skirts, however, my brain is geared toward a different look with the halter style.

Any input would be appreciated!