Finally blogging these two Lady Skater dresses that I made at the start of Frocktober. This pattern’s been on my wish list for a long time. It’s pretty fast to sew up, especially if you have an overlocker. I made the pink one first, and I used a fine merino jersey that I bought at Tessuti’s on clearance a few years back. It has a subtle texture through it, I think created by elastane that has been woven in narrow stripes. It was a pain to work with though, because it was nowhere near square and it curled like crazy. Still, I made that first one in about a day. I could tell while I was sewing it that the waist was going to be too low, but I shrugged, told myself it was a wearable muslin, and kept going. (The fabric had been really cheap as it had a hole at the end that I had to cut around.) The end result doesn’t look too bad in the photo, but it’s practically a drop-waist on me. That waist seam is supposed to be at my natural waist (ie the skinniest point), which is a fair bit higher.

So for the black one, I shortened the bodice by about two inches. (You can see the difference in the photograph.) Better, but I still reckon I could go a bit higher next time. The fabric I used is really, really weird. I bought it at a remnant sale a long time ago, and I have no idea what it is. It feels quite heavy, almost like a rayon, with elastic shot through it. I feel like you easily could use it for leggings or even a bathing suit! But I made a dress out if it, because WHY NOT. It’s actually pretty comfortable to wear.

The pattern itself is clear and easy to follow. I did have a hell of a time with the clear elastic though. It sticks onto my machine and refuses to feed through, so I came up with the idea of putting some wax paper over it. That helped, but it was still annoying and fiddly. Applying the neck and sleeve bands wasn’t too hard, but I haven’t quite mastered getting the joins to line up nicely with the seams. I still find the overlocker very satisfying though! I just need to remember the Cardinal Rule – when it starts misbehaving, check that it hasn’t been threaded wrong. (Every damn time…)

I made myself a new dress! Still getting the hang of knits.

This is another Moneta made with a light jersey print I got at Fabric-a-brac earlier in the year. It was only a small off-cut and the print is directional, so I had to keep it simple. I didn’t put any collar on it, and I used some simple white cotton knit for the bodice lining and pockets. I still find the whole “shirring with clear elastic” thing really annoyingly difficult, so it’s a bit of a bodge. (Maybe the elastic I got at Spotlight isn’t the right stuff?) When I first attached the skirt and tried it on, the waist wasn’t hitting me in the right place. So I undid it and moved it up about 2 inches. The whole project took less than two days. It ended up being a nice little sundress!

Out-of-this-World Washi Dress

Now for the big reveal: my finished Out-of-this-World Washi Dress! #partytime

Edited to add: The Snook’s company Christmas party is tonight and the theme is “GLOW”, so I had the idea a couple weeks ago to make a glow-in-the-dark dress. I found this cool fabric and realised it would make a great Washi Dress. (I’d used that pattern once before.) It came together really well! I especially like the little cap sleeves, which give it a very spacey, “Judy Jetson” feel to me. I was so excited to wear it to work today, and a random lady on the bus this morning evening complimented me on it! I’m very happy with this one.

Join Us in Supporting Equality this Valentine’s Day – Lovely idea from Sarai at Colette Patterns. Buy the digital download of the Cinnamon dress pattern today, and all proceeds go to Freedom to Marry. Win-Win! I got me a new dress pattern. 🙂