Early Fall Sewing #6: Floral Cambie

It isn't much early fall as actual fall anymore, but I am working away with my plans. This Cambie has been finished for a while, but I find taking pictures very challenging. I found a set-up that seems to be working, but it involves a pile of books on my ironing board and the timer on my camera, so it is not optimal. But at least I don't have to drag my boyfriend to a nearby park and coax him into taking pictures of me. Plus, you get my vintage Husqvarna in the background. Next time, I might even think about removing the cover so that you can actually see her. Ah, well, at least there is a pretty dress to look at!

This is Sewaholic's Cambie, and a truly wonderful pattern. It's really nice to sew a bodice that is not just a variation on a sloper, if you understand what I mean. The shoulder pieces gathering into the sweetheart neckline are just enough sweet for my tastes, and I surprise myself liking the cap sleeves they form. It works wonderfully on it's own, and will look just as good with a cardi on top to keep me warm in the winter.

 Construction-wise, everything went together smoothly. It was a bit akward to go and sew the sleeves in with all the bulk of the finished dress in the way, but it is such a clever trick that I didn't mind too much. I handpicked a regular zipper instead of inserting an invisible one, because honestly I'm still a bit scared of zippers and I don't have an invisible zipper foot. I like the control I have when stitching a zipper in by hand, and the result is almost invisible.

Even more wonderful than the pattern is the fabric. A soft, floaty, swishy rayon in a small-scale floral. Pink and white on black. How can it be better? Rayon is such a great fabric. Easy to work with, presses well, drapey and doesn't wrinkle too much if the quality is good. It does tend to shrink a lot, but I always prewash my fabrics so it isn't much of an issue. I found this fabric in copenhagen, in a small store kept by an adorable arab lady. I speak swedish fluently, but my danish is rubbish so we had quite some communication issues... I kept fondling the fabric and draping lenghts on me asking my boyfriend what he thought about it, and the lady kept saying, in english: cheap! very high quality! a dress for you. you need 3 meters! i've been meaning to go back and get more wonderful rayon in pretty prints...

Anyways, I am really pleased with this dress, and I can see myself making more Cambies in the future. I'd make three more right away, but there are so many other patterns tickling my fancy and that I want to try... I've worn it once and got complimented on it, wich is always a great deal for me. I was told the my dress looked like an evening gown and that I looked like I was going to a fancy party...