Whiter shade of pale

Dear Readers,

 

You probably know by know that my Husband took all the photos :)

  some time ago I bought 2 remnant pieces of beautiful grosgrains: an apple green rayon and a creamy-white cotton one (found on http://aksamitny.com.pl/). I never worked with grosgrain except for the ribbons and I was surprised to find how delicate, soft and drapey it is. The rayon grosgrain has more body and is a bit firmer; the cotton is light and smooth; both have a wonderful, subtle sheen to them, which catches the light beautifully. The only problem is that thay fray like crazy: be sure to leave a considerable seam allowances and to properly secure them if sewing with grosgrain fabrics (I used a dense zig-zag stitch).

 Hades the cat is convinced he has hidden himself well

 

I used the Simplicity 8049 reproduction pattern. I was attracted to the three-armhole dress idea (which was invented by Vionnet and used as early as in th 1920s) and I liked the purity of its lines.

The construction was pretty straightforward; surprisingly enough, the front is cut on straight grain so the "cowl" had to be forced into the fabric somehow - it wouldn't collapse by itself like it should when cut on the bias; Simplicity did this using pleats. I decided to line the whole dress using my favourite Superior lining from Truro fabrics; this cleaned up the mess inside and helped to give the dress a little bit more body and less transparency. The lining pieces were created using main pattern pieces, I hand-stitched them in place all around the facings, the side seam and the hem.

I made some personal touches to the project: I added a lining cover to the snaps (they help to keep the wrap-around part in place), arranged the bow in a more sharped-line manner and made a separate belt, which fastens with 3 hooks-and eyes and a snap.

I was afraid that this kind of dress would look bad on a full busted figure but surprisingly it gives a light, fresh feeling, especially when it's unbelted. I consider sewing it up again, this time using some heavy jersey or crêpe .What do you think about it?