Last year I bought this fabric in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It was the only piece I managed to buy on that holiday, despite high hopes for a fabric shopping extravaganza. Apparently the shops were not allowed to sell fabric during Ramadan. I have no idea why and I'm still trying to come to terms with the disappointment!
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| Simplicity 2059 |
After some thought, I decided to use the light cotton, actually Japanese cotton, for a simple and light summer dress. I have had Simplicity 2059 for a while (it is now out of print). The dress is a very straightforward design. It has an A-line shape, no sleeves, a gathered front neckline and a waist tie. The neckline and armholes are bound with matching bias binding.
As is evident from this maternity-esque side view, I omitted the waist tie. I'm not a huge fan of me in belts and it just looked all wrong on this dress. I liked the unbelted front view and thought I could modify the back somehow to bring it in a bit.
This is the back unmodified. The next few pictures show my trials and tribulations as I fiddled with darts, belts and elastic to create some shape.
Here it is tied with the suggested belt (the belt was cut out but not sewn together).
Awful. And the front. Ugh.
How about darts?
How about not.
Shirring of the middle third of the back waistline?
No, no and no!
What then??
In the end, the answer was simple: step away from the sewing machine. Leave it alone!
The back of the dress is un-darted, un-shirred, un-belted and a bit un-derwhelming. I've just decided to avoid standing side-on to anyone while wearing this. The verdict? It's fine. The pattern worked well for the fabric. It's not my favourite dress, but it's cool and comfortable and I will wear it a lot.
OK, onwards to something fabulous. Here's hoping.
