Flower Power

There were lots of nice-to-amazing prints in the cloth brought by the person who brought me their relative's cloth stash, so I know I'm going to be sewing a lot with that (in addition to all the doll clothes I've already made from it.)

I made the first larger project from that cloth last weekend, using two prints that seemed to coordinate and the mash up of patterns and improvisation that I've used to make a few other dresses this year, ending up with this

The large floral used for the bodice was not the full width, and the selvedge that remained didn't have any information on it, so I'm only assuming that these prints weren't designed to go together, no matter how much they immediately clamored to be used together when I saw them.

The scant yardage also meant I had to get creative with the sleeves, and I ended up cutting them on a non-standard bias to get them to fit without needing to piece anything.  The width was enough that I could have used the bodice pattern with the extended sleeves from Simplicity 9153, but then the large black & white flower wouldn't've been as close to the center as I wanted it (and the butterflies go both directions, so at least one of 'em would have been upside-down no matter what), so I decided to cut the bodice and then fret about eking out the sleeves.  Which I did make work!  But when I hemmed them (with the 3/16" rolled hem attachment), they did end up with that fluttery texture that reveals a bias hem.

 Of course, if I would just press things, it wouldn't be so obvious, I know.  I'm wearing the dress now, after laundering it once, and the bias ruffling isn't that obvious anymore, so it all turned out fine, right?

And there was not enough of the bodice fabric--or of the skirt fabric--left to make the facing, so I raided the small-yardage stash* for that and used this loosely-woven cotton print.

 

And I used some scraps left from the regrettable UFO (which has been donated, heh) for the pockets

I used the ruffler to gather the skirt to fit the bodice, and the hem was whipped up with the rolled hem attachment

 (have I mentioned lately how happy I am that I decided to sit down and figure out what I was doing wrong with that thing before?  Because I am very happy that I sat down and figured out what I was doing wrong with that thing before.)  (Also, the rough quality of the print graphics on the skirt makes it ~feel~ even more like ready to wear...)

And then it was done.

I do feel like it's browner than cloth I would have chosen myself, but that's probably overshadowed by the print mixing!


* the small yardage stash has, in the intervening time, been culled severely, going from filling a dresser and being stacked four times the capacity of a suitcase and overflowing a small storage tub and being stuffed into a desk drawer, to just filling the dresser...and the castoffs fill a large storage tub that's still in here, but I'm trying to figure out someplace good to donate that, since it's almost all printed calicos and would be great for people who are inclined to make patchwork because they like it, and not just because they get to a point where they say to themselves, "Oh no I have too much small yardage so I should make something patchwork just to use it all up and not because I really have any innate interest in patchwork."  As you do.