So… you remember how I was not so thrilled with the chambray fabric I used on my Hawthorn Dress?? Well… I found some more chambray that was both thinner and cheaper (in cost) and I’m liking it a bit more now.
I liked it so much more that I bought the same fabric in two different colors – a red/white chambray that looks pinkish and a black/white chambray that looks greyish. It was only like $2.99 or $3.99! How could I go wrong?! And they’re both becoming Anna dresses.
I wish I hadn’t made them both up as Anna, but it’s too late now.
Being the mega shortie that I am, I never dreamed that I would be wearing a long dress (outside the house) and look decent. Long dresses generally make me look like a super squat-looking gal, but Felix approves so I feel confident I don’t look 2 x 2 (2 feet tall by 2 feet wide).
I’m having a love affair with the Anna pattern. I keep finding more and more excuses to make up *just one more*. Case in point: Lladybird’s silk wonder dress, Rennous-oh-glennus’s color mix dress, Seamstress Erin’s Floral Silk dress… and many more.
I see these gal’s lovely versions and I’m like, can I make one more?? I was soo close to buying silk crepe de chine (in the turquoise color) after seeing Lauren’s swishy dress several weeks ago (while mood WAS having a 20% off sale to boot). I was soo close to purchasing; I had it in the cart peeps!
Then I thought…. if I can’t justify wearing my own pink silk mix Anna to work, how can I fathom wearing a crepe de chine one? heh
I’m currently going back and forth with myself – if I can justify purchasing that fabric again. heh So bad I know!
So here we are with my red/white chambray Anna (aka pink chambray).
For my first, silk pink Anna dress I had cut out the boat-neckline version and had a great fit. But now that I stitched the V-neck it was a bit gapey for me and seemed to want to fall off my shoulders.
I already added silk organza around the neckline for stabilization, but I had to make it a bit more secure for my own peace of mind.
Afterthought-Neckline Gap Fix:
One trick I had learnt somewhere is to create a casing for elastic, with feather stitching. You can secure the ends to the area that is gaping with a small amount of negative ease. So when you’re wearing the garment it *hugs* your body instead of gaping away.
I thought I needed to adjust the neckline, but after adding in some elastic, it was still gaping. I then realized that it was due to too much fabric in the back bodice neckline. I could either unpick my invisible zipper and pull in the bodice back or I could unpick the neckline facing and add in some darts.
I decided the best & easiest fix would be to add in some darts. Since I did all of this after the whole dress was fully stitched together, I had to add a dart to both sides of the bodice but also to the neckline facing pieces to match.
It was tricky sewing, but this fix worked like a charm and I don’t have a gaping neckline anymore!
I even stitched the slit in the dress – I don’t think I’ve down skin above the knee since I was last swimming. heh
I’m surprised I liked the slit as much as I do. It’s not too high, and doesn’t show that much – just enough to make a feminine & breezy summer dress.
This isn’t my ‘usual’ look – but once I had the necklace on I figured why not…
I’m even sans glasses. (They were in Felix’s pocket during the shoot).
Front Bodice Detail:
I raised the waistline seam up just a tiny bit – 3/8″ and it’s now perfect for my short waist! The cap sleeves – while wrinkly – they’re perfect coverage and have a relaxed look to them, which is lovely for this chambray Anna dress.
What’s the best part besides the great fit & design of the Anna dress?! I’m pretty certain I spent less than $10 making this dress!
The red zipper was from my stash, the silk organza for the neckline was from my stash, and I even used a basic white thread from my stash to stitch this up. This means the only money I actively spent was the $2.99/yard (or $1.99) for the 3 yards of pink chambray which comes to $8.97. Isn’t that awesome!?!?! heh
This means I’ve officially got my sewing mojo back peeps! Thanks for talking me through it. I just needed a bit of R&R, some knitting time and here I am back at my sewing machine. Wooot!
In: Sewing
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