Posted on 9 Comments

I made a dress, and it fits!

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

This is a momentous occasion, indeed.

I have sewn dresses before, but never ones that I have felt comfortable wearing outside of the house. This one, though? It actually fits me quite well. And I like the way it looks on me. Amazing.

It took me over two years to finally sew this thing.

I bought the pattern in early 2011, hoping to make a dress that I could wear to my nephew’s baptism, but I chickened out like I do with most sewing patterns.

About a year later, I got as far as tracing the pattern pieces onto tracing paper.

This past weekend, I cut out the pattern, and then cut into a thrifted vintage sheet.

And once I’d gotten that far, I knew I had to continue before I lost my mojo. It was roughly a 2-hour job, sewing it all together, but I soldiered on…

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

Go Anywhere Dress @lclarke522

It’s interesting the way this dress is put together – it’s got plenty of curves in it, but no darts. It’s the creative way the seams are placed that makes it contour nicely. It’s one of the reasons I bought it, in fact. This review won me over, when it mentioned how easy it would be to adjust for bust size. Surprisingly, though, it fit me on the first try. Yay!

This is actually my muslin. The plan was to sew a dress using some special new fabric I’d picked up from Spoonflower. I’ve decided against that plan, though. The unique seaming that makes this dress fit so nicely is the same thing that makes me wary of using a bold graphic print, such as these giant polka dots with Clarkesworld robot heads inside them. No, there would be too many interruptions to the dot pattern, and it would look weird.

I had a plan B for my robot fabric, so no big deal. In the meantime, this muslin is nice enough to be a final, wearable garment. In fact Neil said, “this dress actually looks like you could have bought it.” I will consider that a win.

Will I make another? Sure, but not right away. I love the finished result, but I can’t say I really enjoyed sewing it. I was fine up until we got to the facings and the zipper. I’m not good at either one of those things, so they were a little stressy. I really want one in red gingham, though, so who knows? Maybe I will make another one sooner than later.

The pattern, by the way, is the Go Anywhere Dress from Sewn.

(Monday I will show you what I did with those robot heads…)

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Posted on 9 Comments

9 thoughts on “I made a dress, and it fits!

  1. Love it! I’ve been thinking about a similar dress, I have those curves and I might as well enhance them instead of covering them up, lol!

    1. Absolutely! And at this time of year, it’s really nice to have a simple, breathable, non-constricting outfit to throw on.

  2. It looks great on you! I’m the same way. I sew things for myself and then never feel comfortable wearing them. All except for the bridesmaids dress I made for my sister’s wedding, that was a feat.

    1. Wow, that sounds complicated! I don’t have nearly enough confidence in my sewing ability to consider a bridesmaids dress. How cool that you did it, and even cooler that you like it 🙂

  3. Well done miss Lisa! It looks great. How come I’m seeing some sort of little shoulder warmer in your wonderful color palette falling from your needles or hook soon?????

  4. Lisa, I am so impressed! I cut out a blouse a month or so ago from a pattern I bought a couple years ago and fabric I bought about that time. Maybe your success will get me to sew mine. Thanks. It is too cute on you!

  5. Love the material. I also like the way it handles curves. How do you think it would work cut off as a blouse. Women’s t-shirts are just too short or maybe, just maybe I am too tall. It also looks like it is loose enough to be really comfy. If you take the time to baste them in zippers and darts are a snap. Twenty minutes of basting can save a hour of frustration. I have been sewing since I was 7 and it only took me 20 years to figure that out and have had many successful years of sewing since then. Have you ever noticed the magnetic attraction between cats and and new material and a fresh delicate tissue pattern?

  6. Impressive! You look great in that dress. I have just ordered that pattern: would it be simple to slightly lower the neckline or not Lisa?

  7. […] bought some orange gingham to make myself another Go Anywhere Dress, and I also picked up the Colette Crepe pattern I’ve had my eye on. That one needs a lot of […]

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