Ok, so I'll start with the failure because it's the funniest! A couple of weeks ago I published a post with all my maternity sewing patterns that I've collated and I asked my lovely readers' opinions about which they thought would be worth sewing up. Thanks to all for adding their tupp'ny worth! Many favoured the Vogue 7382, as did I, and when I discovered some amazing eyeball-print African Wax fabric in my stash of a sufficient quantity needed for View C, that is what I went ahead and made. The result:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
I laughed my arse off for literally 10 minutes. Then Pat came in to see what the hysteria was all about and then we laughed our combined arse off for a further 10 minutes. Would it shock you to learn that I didn't bother to do any kind of mid-way fitting?! Unlikely. To be honest, I felt something was going awry as I was attaching the skirt section to the bodice. There wasn't anything like the amount of fullness in the gathering that the illustration lead me to believe there would be. It was more like a few little tucks rather than a baby-doll gathered empire-line effect. But I couldn't be arsed to get Pat to pin me in to see what was going on, so I carried on and even hand-picked the zip in (my machine is massively playing up at the moment and wouldn't let me machine-stitch the zip in place).
So with the zip in I finally tried it on! To be honest, I'm not particularly bothered that this is an epic fail. I'd already eliminated the neck-hole and armhole facings in favour of a simpler overlock, turn and stitch method. I certainly cannot be arsed to unpick the dress and re-fit the bodice and finish it off. It didn't take me long to get to this point and I had a good laugh over it, so I think I'm going to throw it back on my fabric shelves and use the fabric for something else one day. Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, further humour can be derived from the fact that somehow I'd managed to place one of the most prominent eyeballs right over my belly button!:
So, have we all calmed down a bit now?! I just about have. Looking at the pictures just made me crack up all over again. That incident would have been a bit depressing if I hadn't already finished another, infinitely more successful, maternity dress creation a couple of days before!
Just as I threatened to do in my last post, I whipped up another version of my nautical batwing dress. This solid black dress is the same in shape albeit for two small changes: it's longer and therefore hopefully a bit more ladylike (seeing as I am no longer meant to be sitting with my legs crossed!) and the neckline is the same in the front and back. I wanted a more slash-neck style for this one so didn't lower it at the front like I usually do when making my batwing creations. This has had the unexpected benefit of making the dress reversible! Being black, I've found since making it that it gets marks on it easily. Being reversible means I can get a bit more wear from it before chucking it in the wash. Call me a skank if you will, but when you have a very limited selection of clothes that currently fit you, benefits like that go a long way!
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45 comments:
Love it. Especially the wax print! I'm 14 weeks and just starting to think maternity sewing, so I've been following your adventures with particular interest!
You need a zip to get into that? Much snorting and giggles at this end too (sorry)..glad it inspired lots of laughter rather than frustration
Well I looove the second dress! Pregnant and elegant! The first one is closer to how I looked towards the end of my '90's pregnancies! I suppose everyone that sews sometimes makes something they are less than delighted with, including me. Hope you are feeling ok now we finally have some hot weather!
Love your new black dress! The other one too, but for other reasons... :)
Beautiful black dress! Reversible is always good. ;)
De lurking to say thanks for that morning laugh. Reminded me of a similar shaped dress my mum made me when I was 8 months pregnant and had a posh do to go to. Imagine it in shiny black stripey nylon with full sleeves!!! I'm sure there's photographic somewhere but since that baby is now 26 it will be lost in the attic somewhere!
Love your blog :-)
Ali
What a difference between the two dresses! I'm just curious - did you try the Vogue dress with a belt, the way it's shown on the pattern envelope?
I like the black one but I can also see real advantages to the first one in this heat. Not necessarily worn in public though. And you could wear it a couple of times and still recycle the fabric after.
The black dress is just gorgeous but i do think that the wax one just need minor adjustments.
Firsty I agree that you should put a belt because all views of the pattern had one and this may make it looks more like the view c.
Second, I think that the length should be revised above knee as your black dress. And last the neckline is perhaps to tighten for nowadays. I would say it is worth a try :)
Talk about a Tale of Two Dresses! I love you SO much for sharing the first monstrosity. And I use the word 'monstrosity' with kindness! But that second one is absolutely superb - a class act! I hope you're well.
I agree that the black dress looks fab and so comfy. When I was pregnant I had one or two shop bought dresses that looked a little like your wax fabric one. I've just made myself a jersey dress with a tie-dye pattern and my son thinks some of the circles look like giant eyeballs but I still love it.
Haha, oh dear. This happens sometimes with maternity clothes! Seriously, try it with a belt- the wider the better. I nearly always wore a belt above the bump towards the end as it took things from being a horrific tent into something more flattering.
Wowza! I'm thinking African wax fabric needs careful application to sewing projects...
Your black dress is just gorgeous! It goes to show that pattern envelopes can be misleading!
Thanks for the advice ladies, but I can't imagine anything less comfortable right now than wearing a belt around my rib cage! I promise you, I'm really fine with this being a fail!
Zoe xxx
Gold!
You are a legend for sharing the Vogue dress :) I'm sorry to say that I was one of the yea sayers for this pattern.... oops, sorry 'bout that! :p
Too funny! Glad you had a back up to make the damage less upsetting.
Crikey! Those vintage maternity patterns are so alluring with their lovely illustrations aren't they? Your black dress is very stylish though.
Absolutely hilarious, and then fabulously elegant! Have just rediscovered your blog (we met back in the days of the London Sewing Meet Up and I still have a great bag you made me) - huge huge congrats on your pregnancy! x
Black dress - cool, calm, sophisitcated yummy mummy
Wax print - rather where I was after waering huge dresses every day for the last 2 weeks of my last pregnancy... TOO funny :-)
clothesandsewing.blogspot.com
Hold onto that wax print dress. It might be funny now and very useful in another few months. :)
Loving the elegant LBD. Never has the phrase "hot mama" been so appropriate!
The wax print though? Not so much! But thanks for sharing the lols :D
For some reason the first dress brings to mind the Flintstones! The second dress is definitely cute!
Have you tried washing your African fabric dress? Wax print sometimes softens considerably in the wash - part of the problem seems to be the stiffness of the dress, maybe? (And I love the second dress!)
I wouldn't call the first dress a complete failure - it'll come in handy if you ever decide to go on a family camping holiday once the baby's born .....
The black dress is fab though!
Oh god, I really don't meant to laugh at anything another seamstress makes... BUT THAT VOGUE MUUMUU HOLY CRAP HAHAHAHAA!!!
Seriously, though, I hope you can eventually find a re-use for that fabric bc it's pretty awesome! And way to go on the batwing dress, that one is definitely the opposite of failure :)
Woah mrs. The first one kinda reminds me of the video to the Jane's Addiction song 'Been Caught Stealing'. At least the... erm... roominess will keep you nice and cool in this heat wave!
Looking gorgeous in the black dress. Effortless chic is what the magazines call it. xx
Ahahahaha, love this post Zoe! I think us stitchers have to develop a sense of humour pretty early on, but it's great to know that bad things happen to us all ;o) At least you can make use of that cool fabric for a different project....and WOW...your black dress is soooo sexy! You look seriously hot in it and it fits like a glove!
Too funny babes! But a huge thumbs up for the batwing style, I LOVED mine during my pregs and miss wearing it now I'm still BFing!
xoxoxo to you guys!
I love the African mumu!!! I think you should show up in it at hospital when you go into labour!
Hehehehe! Zoe, that is so funny! I love that other people make the same mistakes as I do, and are brave enough to bare all on their blogs.
But I do love your second dress - perfectly elegant and you can totally dress up or down with this one. A pregnant LBD :)
Hmm, the first dress does demonstrate a remarkable lack of shaping. However, in my (limited) experience, women often underestimate the size they will be at the end of term, so you may wear this dress yet. 8-)
You look lovely in the black dress.
Ho ho ho! I love that crazy orange dress Zoe! You look like an extra from The Lion King : ) But yes, the second is of course something that will turn heads for more positive reasons. You're a gorgeous mum-to-be : ) xx
That first dress made me giggle so much - it reminded me of nothing so much as the episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes obese so he can work from home, and he gets that muumuu to wear? That said - I think it still has some potential, but probably as a refashion. The second one though is so chic, it's gorgeous! xx
Haha, this is hilarious!! I like your expression in the photos, gotta smile at that epic number. Then looking very classy in the black dress!
Ahhhh, thanks for the afternoon giggle :) Which makes me feel bad, but really, we've all been there!
Love the batwing dress, it looks ridiculously comfy!
Oh I did the same thing. I made a muumuu but I didn't have the guts to blog it. A drapier fabric might make that pattern work. The batwing dress is smokin!
Oh my. This post is just too much. It starts as bad as can be imagined, and then you scroll to the second dress and see such a pretty, put-together mom to be. The juxtaposition is amazing!
Your batwing dress is perfect! And I liked the fabric of the other one, too, but it was funny... :)
Wow, these are such extreme examples of success and failure! Hilarious! I bet you'll find an awesome way to reuse the wax print later on. :)
But oh! The batwing dress is SO elegant and gorgeous! Well done!
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