Tags
easy sewing projects, fabrics, ITY Knit, jungle january, Maxi dress, sew, sew exhausted, sewing, Simplicity 1623
Whew- Talk about cutting it close! I had high hopes to have this finished earlier in the month and a second make as well but my month did not turn out that way. I have been sewing, but it has been “stuff” for everyone else! Currently I am working on four flower girl dresses! But I did squuueeeeeeeze in this little number for ME for Jungle January! I could not miss joining Ms. Anne on her annual trek in to the fantastic, crazy, deep and mysterious jungle.
I had this beautious piece of ITY Jersey Knit that I purchased from Fabric Mart. I had already decided that using it for a full on maxi dress could possibly be a little too much for me and my demureย nature ๐ so decided to use it just for the bodice. I had Simplicity 1623 floating around and loved the MAXI dress. I ALMOST used a solid black knit for the skirt but upon reading the entire fabric recommendations realized the skirt was not a knit so I went out and bought some black challis from JoAnns with my trusty 50% off coupon. I briefly considered making that fabulous off the shoulder sleeve but thought it would be too much with that wild print!
It took my 3-4 hours to make this dress- and most of that time was spent on the bodice! I did not do a “muslin” and I confess there are a few minor fit issues. But nothing that will prevent me from wearing it!
First off, I did not want to miss out on using the cheetah border print so I cut my sleeves against the grain. This made them a leeeetle snug in the arm because there was not as much give. I should have cut them a tad larger! (Or used a smaller seam allowance) But I LOVE the sleeves and am glad I did it.
I also have a very small amount of bunching around the waist. I understand how to do a sway back adjustment on a “normal” bodice but this pattern needed it on the skirt pieces. My mind could not grasp HOW to do it. Anyone know of a good tutorial?It is difficult to see it because the skirt is black but I promise it’s there. Maybe it will disappear when I lose another 5-10 pounds?
Another thought I had was that I should have matched up my print a bit better on the front. There were so many shades of purple- from dark to practically white- and the bodice front was made up of 4 pieces. But I was reassured it looked good!
I love a maxi. I have 5 of them now. I am considering cutting this dress shorter but am afraid. What if I don’t like it shorter?! But I am also afraid it won’t get much wear at this length. I mean seriously… where would I go in this? Hello Keanu Reeves- looking for a date any time soon?
I for one am really sorry Jungle January is almost over and I will have to wait 11 more months to go on another trek! I have so enjoyed looking at all the makes, meeting new bloggers along the way, and being led through the jungle by our fearless tour guide. I gotta say it has been a fabulous journey! But I also understand I don’t have to refrain from using animal prints the other 11 months of the year. There are SO many awesome prints to be found right now!
~Laurie xox
~Working on flower girl dresses
~Listening to “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns & Roses (because it seemed appropriate!)