It’s official, I’ve finally completed my Spring Swing Dress.
I’d first like to give a shout out to my husband Felix, who’s cooked all our dinners so I could finish it up by the ‘deadline’ and has also graciously helped me pin the hem up. He usually does a lot of sighing and gruffing while doing the hem, but he does it like a pro now (mainly because he has to do so much). heh
And of course the beautiful and talented Casey and the ever knowledgeable sew-along group!!! I would never have gotten through the shoulder seam and the sleeve ease without her wonderful posts and all of your pictures and comments on the flickr group.
This is dress is my first experience in sewing with 100% silk fabric, and I think it turned out pretty fair. There are a few minor issues, but I doubt anyone else will even notice them but me. I’ve learned a lot about this slippery fabric, and hope to share my tips/finding with you all very soon.
While I love this fabric, and it’s perfect for both spring and fall, I’m not sure that it works with this style dress. I feel like my waistband detail gets lost in the floral print. Next time I make it, I’ll be using a solid fabric instead. I’d love to make it as a fall dress with 3/4 sleeve in a light wool crepe.
Today was the first warm day we’ve had in Chicago this year. It got all the way up to a balmy 65 degrees. I didn’t even need a coat! It made taking pictures all the easier; I was truly dreading taking photos in a silk dress in 35 degree weather, so it was a nice surprise.
Felix and I stayed local but he got a lot of diverse shots with buildings and parks. It made for a fun lunch break.
I’m trying to point to the subway line I take into work, the always crowded, but lovely blue line. heh
The only major modifications I did was to shorten the sleeve length, reduce the sleeve ease by a few inches, shorten the waist band piece by 2″, and I reduced the amount of gathers in the front shoulder and waist seams.
This is a park near the Art Institute of Chicago, very near to where I work. It’s really serene here in the summer, but unfortunately it’s still very grey and dull from the winter.
If you’ve found your way from Casey’s blog here, I had fun making this dress with you all. The flickr group saved me from making some terrible mistakes. So thank you!
And, as always, to leave you with something completely silly…
Yes, I jumped on the stair and pretended I broke it; only my husband would suggest such a silly shot. heh
In: Sewing
Your dress is beautiful!!!! Cute shoes too!
I used to ride the blue line! My stops were California (home) and Clark/Lake (work). :D
Love it, I love the picture of you on the bench, you just got a look about you. Your dress is beautiful! As always, everything you make looks so nice and professional!
I love your fabric. I think its one of my favorites. Looks very pretty on you. I’ve enjoyed seeing what everyone made in Casey’s sew along.
OMG! Your dress is incredible!
And lol! to the last two pictures, they are just too cute!
Sighing and gruffing? More like hemming and hawing, amirite?
Liz, this is great work! Love your photos and love seeing a bit of Chicago. I think the fabric is very nice for this dress! Your shoes are great too, love the color. Yay for warm days where we can go outside to take photos, so much more fun than inside :)
Nice dress!
Your dress looks lovely! I like the print a lot.
I still haven’t taken photos of mine and I finished it two weeks ago, shame on me!
Your dress is fantastic. You have inspired me to take on slippery fabrics!
Wow! This is definitely one of the nicest versions of this dress I’ve seen. So so pretty, and you’ve made it fit perfectly.
Love your dress! And I love your “photoshoot” for it (Mia is right — those shoes are awesome!). : )
Oh wow!!! I love how your dress turned out! The fabric is such a great pick (kudos for your first time working with slippery silk! :), and you look gorgeous! Beautiful job–thanks for joining in the sew-along fun! :)
? Casey
silk is such a challenging fabric to work with and you’re amazing with it. fun looking photo shoot! :)
I’m completly blown away by all of your nice comments, thank you so much!!!
Hi there, I found you via Tasha’s blog (By Gum By Golly). I’m a Chicago blogger too so it’s funny to recognize all the places you photograph– I went to the Conservatory for the first time recently too (for my birthday). Looks like we posed in front of the same flowers as well. http://thriftaholic.blogspot.com/2011/03/hothouse-flowers-spring-disco-queen_21.html
You’re a very talented seamstress, sadly I can only do very minor repairs to my vintage clothing. I don’t own a machine and am not patient enough to do a lot of hand sewing.