Gift making

Before I make much more progress on the Crepe Sew-Along, I have some gifts I have to get done. In particular, I owe a birthday gift to my cousin. I had made her a wrap, but it didn't fit. She had requested an easy dress for her to wear on a trip to some tropical place. Easy to wear from the beach to dinner. Some flexibility in styling choices.

I've long had an American Apparel dress that both me and my cousins have enjoyed. It met all the right criteria for the dress requested, so I thought I'd try to use it to make my own version. It's a simple design, so I was able to trace it's general shape onto the fabric, cut some seam allowance around the tracing, and assemble it relatively quickly.

As I'd already treated myself to some sweet striped fabric recently, and because of the playful style of my cousin, the fabric choice was about as easy to decide upon as the dress "pattern".

This was my first time trying to sew with stripes, so  I had to take things like directionality and matching stripes into consideration. I foolishly cut out the second piece for the top with the stripes pinned wrong side facing the right side of the fabric. Fortunately, the seam allowance I added made it easy to readjust the stripes enough for a close to perfect match-up.

The skirt portion, I cut on the bias, in part to save fabric and in part because I thought it added to the fall of the fabric.

The end result (as kindly modeled by Libby from Stop Looking At Me Like That) looked pretty good, I don't mind saying.

Unfortunately, the seams were tight. If Libby, that slip of a girl, couldn't fit in the dress easily, then the recipient of the gift would not. She's got trapeze artist shoulders and broad back, so it won't work with the current draft. My current plan is the take some seam rippers to the deal and change the zig-zag stitches to account for more pull and stretch. When I get it back that is, as it's currently on its way to meet it's owner. Or future owner, once it fits her.