Shirt Dress Tunic

I've decided one of my sewing projects is going to be a version of this dress from Target:

I tried it on in the store today (and instead of clothing bought space heaters...) and liked the way it looked except for the odd gathered bits; the picture is awful so you can't see them, but it makes the collar bunch up oddly and so forth. Not flattering. But the back was flattering and I liked the length and versatility. And the contrasting colored ribbon, though it needs to be tied off center to work. They had a variety of patterns, which were all vibrant and I am getting rather tired of solid colors, which is most of my wardrobe.

Since the dress didn't fit, I decided I'd make my own. It looks to be a simple pattern, but I haven't been able to find one online. Did find some great material, though. The choices range from geometric prints to flowers to numbers and I'm having a hard time deciding, though I've knocked about 10 out of the running. Feel free to comment-vote and tell me which one I should use. Tomorrow I might run by a fabric store (I'm going to the knitting store first) and see if I can track down a pattern that would work. If anyone has any suggestions, though, let me know!

I just played around with Flickr mosaics/collages and figured out how to upload a collage of the dress with fabric choices so you don't have to change pages. Here it is:

Marimekko Fabrics

A craft post! A craft post!

As I've mentioned, I stopped sewing because I couldn't find any fabric that wasn't basically calico. And I like interesting patterns, akin to what you find in Anthropologie, etc. So, I was happy to find out about two fabric lines recently that use creative designs: Moda and today's find, Marimekko. Here's a sample of their work...



If you like it, visit my Picasa Web Album and look at more! I also found a fun article about their "cult" devotees.

Fashionable Sewing

This picture is a recent Wardrobe Refashion find-- I don't quite like it as an apron (mainly because I don't wear them and they remind me of a frumpy teenager!), but thought it has a lot of potential as a skirt. How I'd change it: I'd lengthen in to my knees and then take off the ruffle as I'm petite and that doesn't work well. I really like how the skirt is divided by the patchwork break, though, and I would definitely keep that. Different color, but that could depend on whatever material I had around. This design would also work with a flower background and a solid divider. Lots of possiblities!