Made By A Fabricista: A Mother's Day Treat

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be back for my second blog !!!

Every Mother’s Day I treat myself to a new dress (ok… shoes, too!) and my husband treats me to brunch.  For inspiration this year, I watched several runway shows online.  I liked the comfortable laid-back look, but not the Little House on the Prairie or tiered styles.  I was attracted to the floaty, loose fitting maxi-length tent dresses with big sleeves; they reminded me of the 1980s.  The silk dresses I liked cost thousands; the discounted ones were priced over $500. No way was I going to pay that much for a dress, especially when I can sew it for less!  Besides, the colors were not for me.

I decided to make a similar dress; Vogue V1699 maxi was the right silhouette.  I searched the Fabric Mart website for several days until one day, THE fabric came at me - a silk and lycra stretch Charmeuse in geometric print of black, white, and pale yellow!  The colors were energizing, bright, and happy.  It had been awhile since I had sewn a silk dress and I had never worn these colors together, but I ordered the fabric anyways.  When it arrived, I was super impressed. The large multi-color print exuded modern art.  The yellow had a greenish tint, incidentally the perfect shade to go with my yellow shoes I had never worn! 

According to the Fabric Mart’s website, “only silk pre-shrunk by washing is washable.”  Because I wanted the option to wash this dress in the future, I hand washed it in lukewarm water with Woolite. I dried it on a towel, air dried it on a plastic hanger, and ironed the wrinkles out once completely dried. The iron was set on the "silk" setting for low heat.  I sprayed fabric stabilizer all over its matte side to make it stiffer and therefore easier to cut and sew. I waited 2 hours before touching it again.  I hand washed the white polyester lining fabric (from my stash) the same way. 

As I was laying out the fabric to cut, I was panic-stricken.  I did NOT have enough fabric, even though I ordered half a yard extra!!!  I had not noticed earlier that the pattern recommendation was for 60-inch-wide fabric (there was no mention of 45W) and my fabric was merely 43W. I definitely did not want to shorten the sleeves.  The only fix was to shorten the length. The resulting cutting line for the hem was 7 inches shorter than the View B maxi I had wanted, yet 3 inches longer than View A below the knee length.   Thank goodness, it turned out to be a nice midi length for me- whew!

With the fabric’s shiny side as the face of the dress, I sewed with a Singer Microtex Size 60/08 needle at slow speed with my machine’s built-in walking foot.  I used a serger to finish the edges as this fabric frays. For the zipper, I first applied a sew-in interfacing to the zipper area to stabilize the area.  Then I attached the invisible zipper using the Kenneth King method I learned online, which basically involved basting the center seam together before sewing the zipper with a narrow zipper foot.  I was pleased it gave me no puckers at the end of the tape, but, because the zipper tape was still visible, I ran an invisible zipper foot over the zipper teeth. Never did that before!

I usually do not put pockets in special occasion dresses, but I decided to do so this time using the lining fabric.  I was relieved the deep pockets did not add bulk to the hip area.  The inverted pleats in the front gave the dress a loose fit but not over the top.   I made the sleeves long, down to my wrist for an effortless vibe. Hand sewing the bodice lining to the bodice gave the inside a clean finish.  After letting the dress hang for a couple of days, I stitched a 5/8” narrow hem.  I then hand washed it to remove the fabric stabilizer.  A hair dryer on medium setting was enough to dry it; quick strokes of the iron touched up the remaining wrinkles.

I am happy with the elegance of this dress.  Its deep-V neckline, long puff sleeves, and comfortable tent style made me look well put-together for Mother’s Day.  The silk Charmeuse felt heavenly against the skin and draped well. The print was a delightful surprise.  Enhanced by the gathers of the sleeves, the shoulders, and the bodice, modern art was displayed differently on each angle of the dress!   The sleeves looked puffier when I pushed them up to the elbows; I liked that look too!  The midi length was comfortable to walk in and showed off my “new” yellow heels.  On this special day, I felt like a queen, walking around the garden and lounged around the house in style. Most satisfying was that I was able to sew a high-end look in a luxurious fabric for around $50.  I will be sewing more silk dresses in the future.   One thing:  you never know what unique fabric will show up on the Fabric Mart website!

Til next time,

MARY ANN  | @anasewperfect

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Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category CHARMEUSE