Shiny shiny

When I find a pattern I like I have a terrible habit of making it a billion times. I’ve been trying to resist this compulsion but when I received this gorgeous duck egg blue stretch satin fabric it just demanded to be a Bella Tea Summer Dress by Liberty. Never mind that I had just finished a Bella and had planned on using the satin for a slinky skirt, apparently that was just not to be.

This is such a light, smooth and soft fabric. For some reason I thought it would be heavier but instead it is floaty, with a simply glorious drape. It reminds me of the elegant pyjamas an old Hollywood starlet might wear to drift around a decadent mansion. In short, much fancier than my usual style. I love it though and am worried that this might be the start of an expensive habit (to be fair, this fabric is totally reasonably priced but my wallet cannot stretch to silky fabrics on the regular).

This is my second Bella Tea Dress and I was definitely more confident this time round. I made the same size as last time but enlarged the sleeve cuffs a little. The sleeves do fit on my previous version but they are ever so slightly tight on my upper arm chub so I wanted to give them a little more ease. I also still suspect that I’m finishing the sleeves incorrectly but even if they aren’t quite right I think they look ok.

The fabric is super slippy, possibly the slidiest I have ever worked with. I didn’t have too much bother with it, as long as I went very slowly and pinned constantly. There is definitely potential for inaccurate cutting and edge matching if you are not careful and although I didn’t hate working with it, it did remind me why I like working with nice grippy cottons. I tried spraying it with hairspray to see if that gave it a little more grip, but to no avail. I wouldn’t recommend the hairspray trick, mostly because I can’t recall where I heard about it and am starting to suspect that I just made it up... Thankfully the fabric doesn’t fray excessively, otherwise I’m pretty sure there would have been at least a moderate tantrum midway through.

As with my previous version I added a pussy bow tie using the collar from the Sewaholic Oakridge blouse and some leftovers from my stash. The collar isn’t attached so doesn’t need to be worn with the dress and while I think I’ll pretty much always use the collar, having the option to remove it makes the dress more versatile.

I am really pleased with how this tea dress turned out and I think it has just the right amount of librarian chic. It is quite clingy, especially when wearing tights, but adding a slip underneath sorts that right out. I can’t wait to wear it out, if we are ever allowed to socialise again :)

Sewing with this fabric is time consuming and a wee bit stressful but the end result is worth it. I love how soft and smooth it feels, to the point where I have to remind myself to stop stroking it like a weirdo. It would make sumptuous pyjamas or a fancy robe for swishing around in. I’ve never owned such a frivolous dressing gown, usually opting for the hairdye-stained toweling variety but I’m sorely tempted to make one using this fabric, perfect for lounging about while sipping cocktails.

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