great blog post title, or the greatest blog post title? hehe. look, i made myself a dress!
my husband’s college roommate got married in a beautiful evening ceremony in seattle last weekend, so we headed up for a 27 hour getaway, sans kids. i was pretty nervous about leaving O (especially while still nursing), but he and Em did great with grammie and grandpa and we got to sleep in until 9am for the first time since he was born! anyway, back to the dress, my very first dress i’ve sewn for myself. the photo above is pre-lunch, wandering around the pike place market area figuring out what to eat.
and then post-lunch in photo session #2, against this cool wall i spotted near the market. slightly buzzed from a pint of pike’s pale and belly full of sauteed mushroom burger, i was much more comfortable modeling! hm…
the fabric is a green seersucker from joann. i thrifted the pattern (butterick 6376) for 75¢. i’m guessing it’s from the ’70s, don’t you think?
i’m not really a size 12, but i had always planned on omitting the elastic waistband and cinching it with a belt at my natural waist. i think it’s a little crazy that i paid less for it in 2011 than it originally sold for!
this cracks me up too. the original owner scrawled “skirt 13 inches longer.” weeellll…i think i cut the skirt about 13 inches shorter than the pattern! i cut it in a bit of a U shape so the sides have a subtle curved bottom like the hem of a men’s shirt.
my favorite part is the shoulder pleats. i had to redo the neckline itself multiple times, because it looked like a potato sack or something. it didn’t look like the package. it was supposed to be finished with a neckline facing and topstitched, but after i had to go much deeper with the V, i just made bias binding and bound the neckline instead. i like the contrast in stripes. i had to do a little funky work at the bottom of the V because i cut the neckline a little TOO deeply, but it’s hidden by the belt.
all in all, i consider it a success and something i will wear on the remaining summer days, plus with a sweater and tights as the weather cools off. as with my sorbetto top, i picked a too big of size and had to do a lot of adjusting to get the fit i wanted. when i was actually wearing the dress, though, i didn’t feel self-conscious about the “mistakes,” i felt proud to be wearing something i made!
skirt as top 
oh my gosh, you are the coolest. Who else could pull off green seersucker like that? love it.
ha, thanks! i love seersucker.
it’s gorgeous! nicely done! And I’m sure all models down a few beers and a big ol’ burger before they go into a shoot–I know I would 🙂
oh i know, right? lunch of champions! probably wouldn’t work so well if i’d made a pencil skirt. 🙂 thanks!
That is brilliant, I do love a bit of seersucker and you’ve done a great job making it, am especially impressed with the neckline and shoulder pleats.
thank you!
I love your dress. The green seersucker ..so pretty.. Sounds like you and hubby
had a great get away..
Happy Sewing.
thanks so much! yes, it was a nice break from the routine and great to get out of town, but i was definitely missing the kiddos too…argh the mom guilt! 🙂
I love it- a very breezy update!
Two successes for yourself now! I think you can safely say that you sew your own clothing these days. 🙂 Love all the recent projects and love this dress! The shoulder pleats do really make it. Also love picture #3, you look fantastic!
oh, and the blog title (and your comments pertaining thereto) made me laugh. Definitely THE GREATEST EVER. hehe. 😉
haha, thanks so much! it’s a lot more fun to sew my own stuff than i expected – i was so intimidated by it before!!
you’re totally on a sewing-for-yourself roll! the dress came out great and i’m super impressed with all the adjustments you made to make it work. next time you should try the version on the right, with the little vest (?) over it! oh, the 70s…. 🙂
haha, seriously. the vest is IN-SANE. thanks! 🙂
The seersucker is so cute, Kristin! What a great find!
So pretty! You look lovely!
xo, Elsie
Why thank you! Just let me know when you’re ready to start up Red Velvet Art – West, and I’ll be in! 😉
Love the seer sucker – reminds me of something my mum made and wore I was thinking early 80’s! I found you via Sarah Jane. You might need to sign up for Comission from Oliver & S! I am sold on her book and patterns after seeing your sewing of them!
Oh thanks so much! The Oliver + S patterns are really great – I have pretty much learned to sew from them. Just checked out your site – your hairpieces are so lovely!
Wow your dress is rad! Can’t wait to see more sewing for yourself!!
Awesome title! :). LOVING your dress, you can never go wrong with seersucker!!!