One of the Stashbusting Sewalong challenges for February is “Red”. Well clearly I needed to make a Valentine’s Day dress!
You may notice that it is very similar to this dress, and yes, indeedy, it is McCalls 5512, but this time made of fabric that is luxurious and nice to wear. Having said that, Cupid got me with his arrow a few times, and not in a good way. I was busy watching the Great British Sewing Bee as I sewed and this is not to be recommended. It did not end well for my sleeves which had to be unpicked on several occasions, including the occasion when I pierced my finger with a pin and one little drop of blood hit the fabric and turned black. I cannot suck my own blood off fabric as recommended, so I hit the laundry and took the blood and the colour out of the fabric. A new sleeve was ordered…
My other issue was with the pressing. No matter how often I steamed that hem, I could not make it lay flat as the fabric is kind of springy. Since taking these photos of course, I have sorted it! My other worry was the collar. Would it work with softer fabric, or would it flop about? I didn’t want to use heavy interfacing, but I have to say that the collar was a bit of a success. It sits flat at the back, even in this out of focus shot – the price of walking and taking photographs!
and quite nicely at the front.
We walked through the city admiring the Giants, and I was so pleased we got to see them – 1.4m people joined me! Not so pleased with my photography efforts though. This is the best one I got. Little girl giant was doing her exercises when we caught up with her.
In a nutshell: Pattern is McCalls 5512, a vintage pattern from 1970, made from red silk and cotton blend, with flower shaped buttons. The belt was given to me by my Mother-in-law.