Pattern: Simplicity 2215, size 12
Fabric: Nani Iro Pocho, from Miss Matatabi
This is a dress that started with the fabric. A few months back, I discovered the treasure trove that Miss Matatabi's Etsy shop is, and fell for some Nani Iro Pocho double gauze. It is arguably amongst my top 5 favourite fabrics, along with silk crepe, wool flanell and cotton lawn. Double gauze is squishly, a bit thick but lightweight and opaque. It is wonderfully well-behaved under cutting and sewing and presses easily. When it is printed with shimmery gold dots to boot, I get a bit weak in the knees.
To make the most of my Pocho, I wanted a simple pattern, and Simplicity 2215 fit the bill exactly. It's a Cynthia Rowley pattern, and once you look past the fringe, it's a lovely pattern. A simple bodice closing with buttons on the front, paired with a pleated skirt. The pattern "features" uneven pleats as a design element, but who in the world has the patience to mark and pleat these? Not me, anyways. So I made up pleats of my own. The bodice is lined, wich makes a clean finish, and I sewed the skirt with my beloved french seams. I hemmed with a machine blind hem, a finish that truly disappear completely into the fabric. Interestingly, the bodice is interfaced with pieces of interfacing in the shape of facing. Does it makes sense? I suppose it gives definition to the buttoned front without requiring interfacing the whole bodice, which would be plain weird.
A simple dress to showcase a stunning fabric, and I am really pleased with the result. The bodice is a bit big in the upper chest and shoulder area, but has a nice amount of easy at the waist. I am wondering if I should have made a size smaller in the upper bodice, or maybe removed some lenght abobe the bust? Hmm, something to ponder until next time...
Finally, I have been thinking about trying to blogging in both English and Swedish. I've been thinking about this for a while, since I live in Sweden and would really like to try and connect with local seamstresses. What was holding me back is that I am unsure if the language really actually is a barrier between me and other swedish seamstresses, as swedes really do speak and read English well. If there are any swedes reading me, please, can you give me you input about this? I'm thinking it might be easier to find me if I blog in Swedish too? I really do sew in English, simply because most of my sewing knowledge and all of my sewing inspration comes from sewing blogs, so it would be a bit of a challenge to discuss sewing in swedish! Also, it would be a bit unsettling to communicate with the world in the two of the three languages i speak that are not my mother tongue... Lastly, I really suck at translating, so it may not be the exact same content in the two languages. I'm thinking something in the lines of posts in English, and a shorter text in Swedish. Anyways, let me know your thoughts on this!
Jag har funderat ett tag om att börja blogga på både svenska och engelska. Jag har nu bott i Sverige i sju år och skulle gärna vilja att min blogg blir ett sätt att nå ut och träffa andra svenska sömmerskor. Franska är mitt modersmål, men jag syr verkligen på engelska (på grund av att mina kunskap i sömnads kommer mestadels från alla bloggar jag läser!), så det skulle vara en utmaning att skriva om sömnad på svenska. Men jag undrar om det gör en skillnad för ni som är svenskar? Läser ni gärna på engelska, eller skulle det bli positivt att läsa mig på svenska? Jag tänker okcså att det kanske skulle bli lättare att hitta till mig om jag skrev på svenska? Jag är inte alls bra på att översätta, så jag kan inte lova att innehållet blir exakt densamma i båda språken. Jag tänker mig något i stilen om ett inlägg på engelska, med en sammanfattning på svenska. Vad tycker ni?
p.s. sorry for the frizzy hair, it was quite windy on the beach!
