Tag Archive | skater dress

So that Not-Entirely Skater Dress…

Sep23

My first post for the Simple Sew Blog went live a couple of days ago, which was a real thrill! I’m still quite giddy!

This is my version of the Simple Sew Skater Dress 

See? I didn’t get it quite the same

The post was mostly concerned with pattern grading. I wasn’t wholly successful with that, mostly because I didn’t give myself enough time to fine-tune the amendments to get to the sort of finish that I wanted, and still work to the deadline I’d been given.  My bad. But I’ve learned from this first experience of blogging for someone else, and I know now what sort of timing I need to allocate to future projects. Also I need to recruit a tame photographer. Until such time as I can, though, I’ve invested in a selfie stick and one of those bendy grippy tripods for future photographic use.

So the dress… I don’t feel like it’s a proper skater dress, as it’s not as close-fitting in the torso as it was originally designed to be, and it’s longer than most of the RTW skater dresses I’ve seen. That longer silhouette takes it from being a flirty little number to being more dressy and retro. I feel like I should be wearing white kid gloves as an accessory! I have Plans to make a couple of other versions of this dress, which may be more skaterish. Or maybe they’ll take on their own identity like this one.

The pattern itself is ridiculously easy to put together.

  1. Sew the darts first
  2. Attach the bodice pieces at the shoulders
  3. Put the neckline facings (duly interfaced) together and attach to the bodice neckline
  4. Insert the sleeves in the flat
  5. Attach the skirt pieces to the bodice
  6. Sew lovely long side seams from the sleeve cuffs down to the skirt hems.
  7. Sew the back seam and insert an invisible zip (or a visible one, if you prefer, I guess, I’m not the zip police)
  8. Hem the sleeves and skirt
  9. Job’s a good ‘un.
  10. No really, that’s it.

So if you are a more standard size, than I am, and don’t need to faff around with pattern grading, this would be a super-quick make.

The fabric, I totally fell in love with. It’s a stretch sateen, in a fabulously vivid green floral (and I think we all know where I stand on big floral prints). The photographs really don’t do the gloriousness of it full justice. It’s from White Tree fabrics, and it was given to me specifically for the Simple Sew Blog, but I really want to make more frocks with the alternative colourways, it’s such a delightful fabric. It’s easy to sew with. It’s comfortable to wear, because of the stretch. It’s a cute print. What’s not to love?

I’ll confess, I was slightly disappointed with this dress initially, but that was because I had an idea in my head which it didn’t quite match up to. Ideas in the head are always a dangerous thing! As the original head idea gradually fades and I have the reality before me, I’m getting to love it a whole lot more. Some of the fixes I had to do quickly have turned into really nice design features – I’m thinking of the waist darts, which I had to extend into the skirt when the whole thing was too baggy. I think they look pretty good now.

untitled

Look at me, all matchy matchy!

So I’m going to remind myself, the next time I make something that I’m not immediately taken by, that sometimes I need some time to let go of the head idea and embrace the reality.

I still need to get used to the more open back!

back

A little bit draughty!