FROCK FEST!!!

Hey all

Did I win the award for last documented polka dot frock? It wasn’t my goal–I’m just slow–but I am so glad I finished before the end of February. It’s 10:30pm-ish Eastern Standard Time.   Pay no attention to that March 1st up there…

Thanks again to Winnie at Scruffy Badger Time for hosting this absolutely fun sewalong. Her feedback via blog, email, and Flickr has been so encouraging. Such the consummate hostess.

Here’s my take on New Look 6000. While I love the look of the collar option, I chose an open neck because I fell in love with my lining so much, and wanted it to peek out. I originally tried the long sleeve option, which has a really neat cuff, but for whatever reason I just didn’t like the long sleeves. It was just too much… something. I’m so glad I ultimately decided on the short sleeves, because they’re precious as hell. They have a pleat and puff just so, but not ridiculously.

Constructionwise, everything was reasonably straightforward. I’m really glad I made a muslin, because although it was a simple pattern, all of those darts had to go in the right places. Also, I had to grade up from the maximum included size of 16 to about a 20, and that was an interesting exercise for me. I made the muslin out of lining fabric, with the goal of having both a good fit and an already-finished lining for the dress. It worked like a charm.

Obligatory silly phone muslin-fitting pic.

The sleeves went together easily, and I didn’t have to do a neck facing since I did that fancy blue lining.

Here’s the dress. Beware of photo overload. I may as well post a bunch since I tortured my sweet angel for the entire evening–half the evening listening to me curse at the finishing touches, and the other half trying to get the perfect shot.  By the way, these pics are the perfect representation of my house.  There is literally thread on the floor everywhere.

The fabric is a Jennifer Paganelli cotton that I found on eBay.  It was love at first sight.

I love my lining!

Decent invisible zipper action, and not horrible back darts. Any wrinkles or lumps you see are my body, not the dress. 🙂

When I leave my honey alone, he gets really good shots like this, with my beloved hat and the fabric in the background(!!!). Kudos to Lenny for catching this moment.

I really love this pattern. It will most certainly be a TNT. The collar and cuff variations will be fun to play with in different fabrics, prints, and colors; and I’m ecstatic to now have a go-to custom-fitted sheath dress template.

Definitely check out the GOR-GEOUS variations on the Flickr group, and always feel free to see what’s doin’ on my Instagram feed. It fills in the sometimes-long gaps between blog posts. Lots of WIPs and other messes in my life.

You are all gorgeous and adorable and creative, and I can’t wait to see the other stragglers like me who are sewing away, finishing up their polka dotty works of art.  Thanks again, Winnie!!