SEWN: SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY DRESS

This dress is a complete ray of sunshine. I'd just arrived back from my gorgeously sunny holiday to a grey and threatening homecoming. What better way to prolong the holiday feeling than this fabric and this dress?

Now that is some loud fabric!! But by now you all will know I love me some obnoxious statement fabric. And this fabric shouts 70's! Bright! Crisp! and any other number of words I just love.

This is my version of Pattern N Deep-pocket shift with ruffle trim from Yoshiko Tsukiori's Stylish Dress Book: Clothing for Everyday.

I could not resist those pockets.

Though I must admit I was concerned they'd give me the saddlebag look from hell. I'm not so sure pockets at that height and of that size are suited to pear-shapes like me. But hello ruffles!! This dress is perfectly balanced by those ruffled "sleeves", very handily giving an illusion of width across the shoulders. Very clever, Yoshiko, very clever.

And we all know my love for sleeve ruffles.

These my friends are ruffles of epic proportions. I don't think the line drawing or the photographed sample reflect their sheer hugeness. I'm sitting with them... but I'm not sure they shouldn't be trimmed back a bit. I do like the quirky though, so perhaps trimming be damned!

The ruffle edges are left raw as is the edge of the neck facing on the outside edge. I'm interested to see how this wears and frays. I'm hoping not a lot, but both are cut on the straightgrain so it seems inevitable.

This dress may appear a-lined, but I think that is the result of my pattern grading more than the design. It is supposed to be a shift, but when you grade from a small at the bust and waist to a medium at the hip, it naturally swings out that hemline. And I'm good with that - aline is my shape. You can see from the back though that it isn't an extreme A.

The pockets. Love...

They're created by some clever drafting. The back of the pocket is cut in one with the bodice and is "regular sized". The front of the pocket (between the bodice and the skirt) is cut somewhat larger than the back, and then the skirt front itself is cut larger than the bodice. It results in that look of an open hanging, wide-mouthed pocket.

Perfect for somewhere to put your hands... or something large.

It's rare I think my project photos don't look as good as the real life look, but I actually think this dress looks better in real life. Weird. Have you ever felt that way?

In real life it's the happiest of happy dresses, dripping sunshine wherever it goes, and exactly as I imagined it. I think I have me another WOOHOO!!!!