I have had this cotton/wool blend fabric for quite a few years. It was purchased from FabricMart at some point, and showed up with some extra yardage because evidently it was an end of the bolt piece. Hooray for me!
Of course, now that I had almost seven yards of rather wide fabric, I didn't know what to do with myself. My initial thought was to make some kind of 1930s coordinating dress and jacket, but I was never entirely sold on the idea, and the yardage was put away.
And for me, out of sight often mean out of mind with fabric as well as patterns.
When the Claire Dress was released by Charm Patterns I almost immediately wanted to make a version for myself. The only trouble was, it takes a LOT of fabric. The instructions separate yardage requirements between bodice and skirt which can make it difficult to know exactly how much fabric is needed.
But the grid pattern on this woven fabric immediately came to mind when I thought of Claire McCardell for some reason. And I knew that I had a lot of fabric to work with, so I went hunting through the stash to find it.
Turns out, I only needed a little over five yards for my dress, so I even have a bit left when the right inspiration/pattern comes along.
As for my thoughts on the finished dress . . .
I had a moment during the construction where I thought that I had made a big mistake and really didn't like how everything was looking.
But I decided to stick with it, and I am very glad that I did. This is a great dress design that isn't your average wrap dress. The extra details are absolutely worth the extra effort. And I do love those bound buttonholes that I decided to add!
This dress has some very interesting features.
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful as always!