I finally experienced it – that project which never ends…

You know the one? The one where the seam ripper becomes the most cursed object in the sewing room. The one where no matter what you do to stabilise your fabric there’s an uncontrollable amount of stretch on the bias-cut pattern pieces, so you need to unpick and recut and pray to the sewing gods. On repeat.

That one.

I almost gave up at least 10 times. As did my iron which had to be replaced halfway through the making of this dress. I should have taken that as a sign, really.

I love this fabric – I actually bought some of this way back at the start of the year and I made a Charm Patterns Scout Capelet and Scout Hat. You can see them on an earlier post. Black and gold is hard for me to pass up… and when I realised where I had previously seen this fabric (on Bridgerton), it gave it another level of desirability. The last time I used it I experienced no issues at all. I washes well, irons well and sews up effortlessly (but I would always recommend using a sharps or metallic needle with brocade.

Similarly, the pattern was a tried and tested one – I’ve made a couple of Sew Over Maisie dresses in the past. I knew I wanted something with a full skirt; originally, I was going to make a boatneck cut bodice but changed my mind at the last minute and pulled out the Maisie pattern pieces.

Maisie is fitted with darts and has a beautiful fixed wrap front which is pleated into the side seams. It has raglan sleeves (which make for very easy sewing) which are also shaped with darts. The back bodice is a mirror image of the wrap V neck at the front. It really is a very straightforward pattern…

Well, no matter what I did – I stabilised the neckline with stay tape and I stay stitched, too, but there’s still a bit of excess room that makes what would have been categorised as ‘probably not the best dress for the office’ into a ‘definitely do not wear to work’ dress. Not unless you can be bothered with wandering eyes. This will certainly remain in the dinner date / cocktail night dress collection.

Because I had made this dress before and had already been happy with the fit I didn’t stop to try this dress on. I didn’t even think (given the precautions I had taken with the neckline) to double check --- it was only when I went to attach the skirt pieces (already seamed and overlocked) to the bodice that I realise that the front skirt had stretched. And I don’t mean a cm or two. More like an inch or two. So, out came the seam ripper – I have managed never to have needed to do anything so dramatic before; it’s usually just a few stitches. Now I know why people sometimes say sewing is stressful. I had to lay the fabric back out and recut the pieces.

Is this my best sewing? Absolutely not. But this dress feels even more of an accomplishment in its imperfections because of how much had to go into the making (and unmaking of it). While I am aware it’s a little flashy in the bust area, I know someone who is appreciative of the flaws in this make!


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