6 years ago
What Turned Out To Be My Most Worn Dress of the Season
Hello, hello! I’m excited to be back here with yet another make with some amazing fabric gifted to me from Minerva!
Today let me introduce you to what turned out to be my most worn dress of late summer / early fall this year! I chose to make the Anza Dress from Itch to Stitch. I thought it would work well with my pineapple printed chambray and I wasn’t disappointed!
The rayon chambray fabric is luxurious with a hint of stretch to make it feel even better! It’s soft and has a great drape to it and the pineapples lend it a whimsical touch. I found it so easy to work with. It does take a bit of a press before wearing because it does wrinkle, but I figure that’s a small price to pay for the comfort it gives.
I’ve made so many ITS patterns over the years, that I often joke that Kennis Wong, the designer of Itch to Stitch, creates her patterns specifically for me (if only she’d extend the bodice to match my long torso, I could dive right in. She seems to keep forgetting that part! ha ha!), so I knew going in that the Anza would fit, with no prep to my pattern beyond lengthening the bodice. There’s nothing quite like a pattern that you know will be tried and true even before you make it.
I wasn’t sure if I would care for the elasticated waist because let's be frank for a moment. My nearly fifty-year-old self doesn’t exactly have the well-defined waist I once had. But it seems to have worked out just fine! I’m happy anyways and really, isn’t that what it’s all about when it comes down to it?
Also, can we talk about the pockets for just a moment? I really wish I'd taken a photo of it - I thought I had but I can’t seem to find it anywhere so you’ll just have to trust me - but they are so generously deep it’s amazing. It’s no secret that I love a good pocket, one that can be useful, not just decorative. The first day I wore my dress was when I went to visit my mom towards the end of August. We were walking through her garden and she was picking things here and there handing them to me as we went. At first I was carrying peppers and cucumbers in my hands, but there was a lot of them and they were starting to be hard to hang onto, so into the pockets they went. I emptied most out when we went back in the house, but she had some different and interesting varieties of tomatoes and peppers that I didn’t have in my garden at home, so she told me to take those home to enjoy. So they stayed in my pocket. They were still in my pocket when I stopped to gas up the car. They were still in my pocket when I got home and took the dog for a walk up the road. It wasn't until I went to put something else in my pocket that I remembered I had tomatoes and peppers already in there. Now that’s a pocket! Ha ha!
I knew I'd liked the pattern and I knew I liked the fabric. What I didn't realize when I made my Anza was just HOW much I would like the pattern and fabric paired together. Don't get me wrong; I was pretty sure they went together well. What I mean is I didn't realize that this would be come my "go to" dress for any occasion. Wandering through Mom's garden storing veggies in my pockets, running errands in town, going to work... I wore my dress all the time (often more than once a week) well into the fall months until it got too chilly to wear it anymore. I'm still trying to figure out if I could pair it with boots, tights and a cardi and continue wearing it throughout, but I feel like the pineapples give it just a bit too much of a summertime vibe. Maybe I should start perusing the Minerva site for some cool/cold weather appropriate fabric...
In the meantime, I'll leave you here and say goodbye until next time! Thanks for reading and happy crafting!
#minervamakes #minervamakers #sewover40 #imakemyownclothes #selfsewnwardrobe #chambray #itchtostitchdesigns #Anzadress #casualdresses #tntpatterns #standtallbelikeapineapple
Hello, hello! I’m excited to be back here with yet another make with some amazing fabric gifted to me from Minerva!
Today let me introduce you to what turned out to be my most worn dress of late summer / early fall this year! I chose to make the Anza Dress from Itch to Stitch. I thought it would work well with my pineapple printed chambray and I wasn’t disappointed!
The rayon chambray fabric is luxurious with a hint of stretch to make it feel even better! It’s soft and has a great drape to it and the pineapples lend it a whimsical touch. I found it so easy to work with. It does take a bit of a press before wearing because it does wrinkle, but I figure that’s a small price to pay for the comfort it gives.
I’ve made so many ITS patterns over the years, that I often joke that Kennis Wong, the designer of Itch to Stitch, creates her patterns specifically for me (if only she’d extend the bodice to match my long torso, I could dive right in. She seems to keep forgetting that part! ha ha!), so I knew going in that the Anza would fit, with no prep to my pattern beyond lengthening the bodice. There’s nothing quite like a pattern that you know will be tried and true even before you make it.
I wasn’t sure if I would care for the elasticated waist because let's be frank for a moment. My nearly fifty-year-old self doesn’t exactly have the well-defined waist I once had. But it seems to have worked out just fine! I’m happy anyways and really, isn’t that what it’s all about when it comes down to it?
Also, can we talk about the pockets for just a moment? I really wish I'd taken a photo of it - I thought I had but I can’t seem to find it anywhere so you’ll just have to trust me - but they are so generously deep it’s amazing. It’s no secret that I love a good pocket, one that can be useful, not just decorative. The first day I wore my dress was when I went to visit my mom towards the end of August. We were walking through her garden and she was picking things here and there handing them to me as we went. At first I was carrying peppers and cucumbers in my hands, but there was a lot of them and they were starting to be hard to hang onto, so into the pockets they went. I emptied most out when we went back in the house, but she had some different and interesting varieties of tomatoes and peppers that I didn’t have in my garden at home, so she told me to take those home to enjoy. So they stayed in my pocket. They were still in my pocket when I stopped to gas up the car. They were still in my pocket when I got home and took the dog for a walk up the road. It wasn't until I went to put something else in my pocket that I remembered I had tomatoes and peppers already in there. Now that’s a pocket! Ha ha!
I knew I'd liked the pattern and I knew I liked the fabric. What I didn't realize when I made my Anza was just HOW much I would like the pattern and fabric paired together. Don't get me wrong; I was pretty sure they went together well. What I mean is I didn't realize that this would be come my "go to" dress for any occasion. Wandering through Mom's garden storing veggies in my pockets, running errands in town, going to work... I wore my dress all the time (often more than once a week) well into the fall months until it got too chilly to wear it anymore. I'm still trying to figure out if I could pair it with boots, tights and a cardi and continue wearing it throughout, but I feel like the pineapples give it just a bit too much of a summertime vibe. Maybe I should start perusing the Minerva site for some cool/cold weather appropriate fabric...
In the meantime, I'll leave you here and say goodbye until next time! Thanks for reading and happy crafting!
#minervamakes #minervamakers #sewover40 #imakemyownclothes #selfsewnwardrobe #chambray #itchtostitchdesigns #Anzadress #casualdresses #tntpatterns #standtallbelikeapineapple
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