Recap: I am not a professional seamstress, and I tend to run blindly into projects.
This still has not changed since yesterday. In fact, I think the only difference between today's manic panic and every other dress I've featured on this blog is the fact that I used math for all of 2 minutes.
If 2*pi*r = 29"
Then r=~4.6"
But I'm getting ahead of myself, again. Let's start from the top.
The first thing I needed was a fair amount fabric, maybe about 2 yards. There was always a fabric store or Walmart, but I thought I'd try something else first.
You know what's a really inexpensive source for fabric? Sheets:
I may have a slight addiction to Goodwill, but when I can get 3 yards of pretty solid fabric at about $8, I can't help but let my inner thrifter shine. It was a lot more than I needed, so I cut away the excess for a rainy day.
Once that was squared away, I folded the fabric into quarters and measured out the inner circle. Probably a poor idea, as cutting through multiple layers is always a little dicey, but it's a thin enough fabric, and I'm lazy. To keep it nice and tight, I pinned down the corners.
Hopefully if I've done this right, the cutout will be a fairly even circle, and not just a rounded rectangle.
Not perfect, but it'll do.
All the cutting left a lot of rough edges. I could fold over the edges to make a hem, but I didn't want to create a lot of bulk at the ends, so I opted to "finish" the edges instead. I don't have a serger machine, unfortunately, so instead, I did a zig-zag stitched followed by a straight stitch. It's not exactly a good replacement, but it'll hold for now. Possibly, later, I'll add a little Fray Check (kind of like a light glue for fabric) to keep it from coming undone.
For a little extra fun, I added some lace to the trim. And, because I have no sense, I decided it would be an awesome idea to not secure it to the edge at all, so that It became a bit willy-nilly while I was attaching it.
For the top, I could have made it from the excess fabric, but I wanted to give it some color contrast. I picked up a camisole in a navy blue, pinned it on the skirt (without measuring where I wanted it to fall on me, of course), and went to town.
Mid result?
Not bad, but the shirt is a little too baggy, and the skirt fell a little too low.
There are plusses and minuses to not using an actual pattern. On the one hand, you get a lot more wiggle-room because it's literally whatever comes out of your head, and you don't feel the need to stick to what the paper says for fear of messing something up. On the other hand, it's very touch and go, and I end up having to do a lot of alterations before I'm really happy.
I made the decision to fold over the edge and bring it up a little. As for the back, well... I got a little creative.
My thought was to sew little links on the back of the shirt, then thread some ribbon through, creating a sort of pseudo corset:
Add a little trim to the collar, and...
And that's how I take a dress from concept to product. Does it look like the original? Mmm, not really. Do I mind? Not enough that I won't wear it. The skirt still falls a little lower than I wanted, and it make my arms look a little big, but nothing to be done for it. It's a little hippy-esque, but I wanted a light dress that I could wear to a casual gathering, and that's exactly what I made. In my book, that's a success.
So what exactly am I wearing this for? Tune in Monday (maybe Sunday, if I'm back early enough) to find out.
Until the next.
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