Tropical birds wrap dress and Paris fabrics finds!

Vacation! Vacation! I always seem to need a holiday after each vacation. It was really tough getting myself back to my sewing projects and though my first project involved a pattern I have used not only once but twice (here and here), I was sewing with SILK crepe de chine for the first time. Yikes!

Designer Marc Jacob used this tropical bird print for a wrap dress and I liked the idea. However, I wanted a wrap dress with more design elements such as cute drape sleeves, perhaps some pleats for shaping and the oh so current asymmetrical hem. Oh wait! That sounds almost identical to my favorite wrap dress pattern from the 12/2010 issue of burdastyle magazine! All I had to do was to create my own asymmetrical hem. I am horrible at photographing hemlines I realized. The skirt has a longer back and a front with an inverted V hem.

The fabric was surprisingly tough to iron, it creases more than I had expected and I had to press it time and again before cutting. The silky component also made it harder to cut than regular woven fabrics. Sewing it was easier than expected especially for the skirt section which was lined. The lining played a role in stabilizing the main fabric, making it easier to stitch.

The sleeves again take center stage with the drapes I love.

The entire dress is finished with french seams, bias binding, facings and hem. And I added top stitching details to the back yoke to make it more interesting.

All in all, I am pretty happy with this silk version (finally). It’s a dream to wear! With versions 1 and 2 of this wrap dress being worn regularly, I am quite certain this tropical birds dress will be put to good use:) And though silk is really tougher to manipulate, I am eager to sew more with it as the buttery feel of the fabric is enough of an incentive! I will be sewing at a slower pace though since it takes more out of me. It took me less than a day to finish the cotton versions and a week to complete the silk version but I think the time spent was totally worth it.

A Short note on fabric shopping in Paris! 

My dear hubby snapped thousands of photos in Paris so please give me some time to shrink the selected ones to share my post on one of my favorite cities in the world. However, I can’t wait to share photos of my fabric buys with you!

I am so blessed to have found some absolutely lovely fabric in Paris during my family vacation and have to thank Elise for her fabric shop recommendations!  The market had many shops selling home decor  and other fabrics I wasn’t really interested in so it was important to plan which shops to visit. I only visited three with kids in tow and managed to find fabrics I love in each one of them.

My favorite find has to be this wonderful silk fabric with an irregular and vibrant splatter print from Les Coupons de Saint Pierre. I dug it out from under a huge pile of silk and couldn’t believe my luck. The soft viscose knit below is actually blue with silver stripes (which I failed to photograph accurately).

I couldn’t resist making these chiffon/ georgette fabrics mine, mine, mine either:) And I love that all these shops I visited accept credit cards unlike shops in Shanghai or some in Hong Kong. It was just so much more convenient!

Last but not least, two floral Liberty Art fabrics that called out to me at Tissus Reine which had a really good selection of Liberty tana lawn.

But, best thing about fabric shopping in Paris is that the Saint Pierre fabric market is just a few steps away from Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur.  How more convenient can it get? I wish I lived in Paris.

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