A very dear friend passed away recently and I wanted to make a dress for her funeral as a way of honouring her, but also to give me an opportunity to spend some time in quiet contemplation of our friendship.
I had a look in my stash and found a wonderful merino knit that I bought in Dunedin many moons ago. I decided that I would make Vogue 1338
I laid the pattern on the fabric but no matter what I did I couldn’t fit it all in. The top pattern pieces are enormous as the front and back are each cut in one piece. I gave up, but had a midnight lightbulb moment that I could have cut the sleeves out separately and joined them. However, it was too late, I was working to a timeline, so had already moved on to Butterick 5559.
I’ve made this before and it worked well, so I felt fairly safe.
This dress does present some challenges – lining up all those tucks being one of them. Looking at these photos, I think I should cut the armscye deeper next time I make this dress.
The fabric is interesting to say the least. It has the consistency of foam rubber which makes getting sharp creases impossible.
The photos are a bit grainy – sorry. I was posing in front of the only blank wall in the house, except it’s no longer blank, Archie has put a chin up bar on it; not that I will ever be doing a chin up as I can’t even reach it!
Although the dress was made for a sad occasion, I did focus on our friend the whole time I was making it, and know that I will forever associate it with a warm, witty, vibrant and generous person who greatly enriched our lives.
Details: Pattern is Butterick 5559 made from a smoky blue merino knit bought at Global Fabrics, Dunedin, NZ. Shoes are Arche, and the rather fabulous Keishi pearl necklace is courtesy of Heaven Wrapped, Claremont.
In loving memory of our dear friend Pauline who died on a Kimberley cruise on 18 July, 2014. She will be forever missed.