Stripey Stretch Dress

If this dress could talk and you got close enough to hear it, it would be saying, 'Here's the hips, here's the bum, here's the boobs, there's the legs down there....'. Basically it would just be spouting a list of the body parts it does not leave to the imagination!

I made this dress back in December, but haven't got round to posting about it until now. I was planning on taking some nice photos of it during the first evening I wore it which was just before Christmas. But that evening I ended up getting engaged instead, so all thoughts of photographic endeavours went out of the window!

It's made from some hefty knitted fabric I was able to snare from work. It is stretchy enough to not require any fastenings, but really thick so I don't feel every lump and bump is exposed and it can be worn in colder seasons with opaque tights and another layer (like my new bolero shrug, as pictured above). I like that the two different fabrics give a kind of trompe-l'œil effect as if I'm wearing a top and skirt instead of a dress. It's a total cheat's way of appearing to have well coordinating clothing! And the VERY best thing about it? You can eat as much as you like whilst wearing it!!! Nothing digs in and tries to tell you 'That's enough chocolate pudding now, Zoe'.

I really didn't have to try very hard to make this dress. The pattern is basically straight out of the Sew U: Home Stretch book (which I used a couple of years ago back in Spain here and here). It's the dress pattern included in the book with slightly adapted sleeves and a scoop neck. I'm really struggling to find details to share with you about this project! I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you are interested in learning to sew with jersey and knit fabrics but aren't sure where to start, you really should get a copy of this book. It demystifies the whole construction process and techiniques, and the patterns included in the book are a good place to start to work on creating your perfect stretch patterns. All my stretchy fabric patterns that I've developed for myself include elements from those original patterns.

If pushed, there are two things I'd probably change if I were to make this again (and I may well, if I come across some appropriate thick jersey, knit or sweatshirting). I'd probably make the neck binding strip a touch narrower, and I'd make the skirt length a fair chunk longer! When I'm walking around in this, I really can't feel if my arse is covered or not! Plus, if it was a bit longer, I'd have some enough fabric to re-hem the bottom when it stretches out and starts to look wierd, as I predict it will. The good thing about creating it in two separate sections (top and bottom) though, is that I could easily cut away the skirt section and make a new one if that bit starts to spoil the top.

Ooh, it looks a bit Beetlejuice in the picture above, doesn't it?! Well, in that case, it's showtime!!!