Crisp White – Frocktober Part 2

“Oh, you’re wearing white after Labor Day?”  asked my flatmate as I was leaving for work, the first time I’d worn this dress.

“Pff, I’ll quit wearing white when it quits being 80 degrees,” I said.  I live in Texas, see.  It won’t be truly autumn until December.

Panels and pockets.

I buy fabric and patterns much more quickly than I can actually use them, so again, these are a few things I’ve been kicking around in my head for a while.  I broke out this Burda pattern for a V-neck Little Black Dress back at the end of August and started fiddling with alterations.  I wasn’t quite sure how to do a Full Bust Adjustment on this pattern, given that it had those side panels, but the TMS Facebook group came to my rescue.  You’re all such a help!  In the end, I basically just treated those seams like the slashes – which might not work for something more fitted, but was fine for this pattern.

I found the fabric in Vancouver’s Dressew Supply, and it’s a stretchy, silky, buttery soft knit.  I’m a self-taught seamstress so I don’t always have the right words to describe my fabrics; I tend to walk around stores and pick things by look and feel.  This one appealed to me because even with that softness and stretch, it also had some texture to it:

Hopefully you can see the texture of the fabric here.  I need to try a little harder on my photos next time!

I also self-lined the whole thing, which makes it feel that much more decadent.

I made the back V-neck a little deeper than the pattern, just for kicks.  But not so deep as to expose bra bands/straps.

The fit is pretty good overall and I definitely see myself making another version or two with a contrast fabric for the panels.  One thing I think I will omit are the pockets:  I love the idea of them, but it practice they tend to make lumps and bumps and weird draping.  Also, I feel like this fabric is too delicate to put much of anything in them, because it stretches it out.  But, the silhouette is exactly what I was envisioning for this fabric, and I’m happy with the result.  I wore it to work with a black blazer and felt pretty chic.

I also just wore it, with lots of shiny jewelry, to a Diwali celebration this weekend, but after I got home I realized that none of those photos were actually on my phone.  Hope they show up on Facebook sometime!

Squinting into the sun, because Texas.