A Denim Dress and a Shirt full of Butterflies

I’ve been overdosing myself with fashion magazines in the recent months and one of the Spring 2013 trends I love is denim, especially the denim dresses. I was very much inspired by Diane Kruger’s denim dress in a very 50s silhouette to try something different with the fabric.

And with the forties being my favorite fashion era, I couldn’t help but wonder how the two would look together. Denim+40s dress design=?

The result of my experiment is a rather figure hugging dress made with lightweight denim/ chambray fabric I bought from the Dongdaemum fabric market in Seoul Korea (US$7 for 3 metres!!!) and Simplicity 1777, a reissue 40s sewing pattern.

I chose the version with a V neckline as it’s more flattering and cut a size 12 from the Simplicity pattern. My two deviations from the instructions were the shortening of the sleeves and the replacement of facings with a bias tape finishing for the neckline. Two important things to note if you are keen to sew with this pattern. 1) Use a light weight fabric- the amount of pleats and gathers and the layers of fabrics/ interfacing will create bulk and the bulk will multiply with the thickness of your fabric. I decided to do away with the facings (front facings mirrors the entire front yoke of the dress) because of the additional bulk it could create and used bias tape instead. 2) This dress will not look flattering if the bodice does not hug your curves so it is important to take in the sides of the bodice and waist after finishing your dress. I did.

Other than these, it’s a pretty fast and easy dress to sew and I love the end results too. As the pattern also recommended matte jersey as a fabric choice, I’m already planning a knit version of the dress! The gathers drove me nuts before I adjusted the fit but I love them on the finished dress! Somehow, 40s designs never fail to awe me with their understated elegance, even in denim. Being so casual and yet so different, I’m quite sure this 7 dollar dress is going to get lots of wear.

My original plan of sewing two shirts for the two most important men in my life didn’t go as planned though. So for the first time in years, I told dear hubby to buy himself a shirt this year. After all, I just made him a handsome winter coat? No?

For dear daddy, I sewed a shirt from burdastyle’s Jakob sewing pattern using a butterflies cotton lawn fabric from Alexander Henry. It’s only the sixth day of the Lunar New Year today and dad has already wore the shirt on two occasions. So, I guess he likes it:)

Here’s a close up shot of the inside seams, all hemmed or finished with french seams for a clean finish. I get asked quite often how I finish seams since I don’t own a serger. For light weight fabrics like cotton lawn, I find french seams super duper efficient for the job. I love this fabric, it’s just SO Spring!

Thank you so much for leaving me such sweet and encouraging words in my last post! Having sewed 2 projects in January, it’s definitely a good start to the new year for me! I hope you are enjoying your sewing projects too! Here’s my family wishing all those who celebrate a prosperous and blessed year of the golden snake!

Advertisement