Saturday 11 December 2010

Inspired by Van Gogh - the sunflower dress

I found this fabric at my local Spotlight for about $6.00 per metre and something abut it spoke to me.  The colours remind me of the Sunflowers painting by Van Gogh.  It is 100% cotton, hence the wrinkles after a full day at work but it is very light and cool in the hot weather.

The pattern is Simplicity 2424 - one of the Threads collection patterns.  I also like the cardigan in the pattern but I will have to give the jacket a miss though - the wide lapels will probably swamp my narrow shoulders and I suspect the poofy sleeves will end right at my widest bit!

I would have liked to have lined the dress but the only lining I had in my stash is the kind that wrinkles like mad after washing so I thought it would be a nightmare to take care of with two layers to iron!  My solution is to wear a full slip underneath which I actually quite like to do anyway.

Here is the back.
The princess seams make it easy to alter for many body types.  I made an fba, a sway back alteration  and narrowed the upper back.  The front neckline is a little high and makes me feel a bit claustrophobic but I can live with it.  I probably should have altered for my forward thrusting neck. 

I forgot to lengthen the pattern so I hemmed it using 2.5cm hem tape, but as you can see this pattern is a little longer than standard - I normally lengthen skirt patterns by a good 5cm.  I quite like the stability it gives the flimsy fabric.

Overall I like but don't love it.  It's not as comfortable as I would have liked, with it's slightly too high neck and the belt carriers are on an awkward part of my waist so the belt digs in a bit (this will not be a problem if your waist goes out gradually to your hips, rather than quite abruptly as mine does).  But I am desperate for clothes, it was super-inexpensive and it will do for one summer.  I would make the pattern again but take more time to fit it properly.

8 comments:

SewRuthie said...

I like it on you, but understand about the slight strangling when you have a forward head. Would it be easy to move the belt carriers so the belt would be more comfortable?

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Well I love the fabric you chose to make this version in! It's very pretty! Hopefully the next version will iron out all the small irritants of this one.

harbourmaster said...

Love the colours on you. I hate when you make something and it ends up being slightly not-quite-right.

Gail said...

For some reason I can't see your text, just the pictures. I can't imagine what is wrong with the dress. It looks great to me.

Josie said...

Thanks Gail,
For some reason my background went AWOL. Ah well, I felt like a change anyway!

gwensews said...

That's a very pretty dress. It looks terrific on you. I'm in awe of the scenery, since I'm in the frozen tundra of Michigan with temps of around 6 degrees!

Anonymous said...

OMG you look sexy in that dress, love the rear view shot

Anonymous said...

Wonder what kind of panties she';'s wearing under that dress