One of the projects I worked on at my recent sewing retreat was a princess line "fit and flare" dress from a heavy weight cotton/lycra knit. I made this pattern many years ago (probably 20!) and I found that I got more attention when I wore that dress than any other garment I have ever made. I decided to resurrect the pattern and make it again. My goal was to make a winter dress I could wear to church and that was easy to put on and wear. What I have come to realize about my wardrobe and my sewing is this:
- I have a lot of summer dresses but almost no winter ones.
- The few winter dresses I have are too dressy for every day wear.
I knew this dress fit 20 years ago but I was a little nervous cutting out the fabric without a few measurement checks and alterations. I added some width across my tummy (which ain’t what it used to be) but one real advantage to sewing a princess line garment is all of the seams and their possibility for fit. One design change I made from the original was to omit the center front seam and cut the panel on the fold. I lost a little flare in the skirt by doing this but the skirt is full enough that it isn’t missed. I basted the dress together before serging all of the seams and tried it on for fit. Despite that preparatory fitting, I was nervous when I sat down to serge the seams and I sewed each seam a scant smaller than my basting. In the end, I was sorry I did as the dress is a little large, at least above the waist.
One other concern that I had was that the dress would be boring. I felt it needed a little something to add some interest. My friend Kathy suggested using tone on tone embroidery. I auditioned a number of designs before I came up with the one I finally chose. This large, open floral is a Pfaff design, digitized for the Grand Hoop. The actual embroidery design was much more complex with several other colors and a small all-over floral design but I chose to only stitch one of the color stops and to leave the flower centers off. I lean toward tone on tone, subtle, low density designs and this one perfectly fit the look I was after. I stitched one sleeve and the opposite skirt panel before constructing the dress.
When I left for the retreat I wasn’t sure what I was going to put in the center of the flowers. I had a collection of unmatched purple buttons but also entertained the idea of some tiny fabric yoyos. What I ended up with were some glass pearl beads that I bought at the bead shop in Winchester while at the retreat. I hand sewed the beads on after I had finished the dress.
I used self binding around the neckline and stitched the hems with a double needle and the same rayon thread I used to stitch the embroidery. I also omitted the zipper at the center back and next time will probably also cut the center back seam on the fold, losing a bit more of the flare in the skirt.
I am really pleased with the way this came out and like wearing it with my black, knee-high boots. It pushes the limit of casual vs. dressy with the addition of the pearls but I don’t feel over dressed wearing it. I am happy to have a new addition to my closet.