stylish dress book - halter dress

I have a stack of Japanese Craft Books. I buy them, flip through them, admire them but up until now have never sewn from them.

I decided that this year I would try and I started off with a linen halter dress.

Karyn has a nice post with photos from inside the book here.

This is a forgiving dress because after I cut half of the pieces I realized I forgot to add the seam allowance. I also shortened it a bit by accident only to find that I like the length. The back sits halfway down but I need to redo the elastic to bring it in a bit more. This dress is great for layering - tank tops or over a swimsuit in summer. A cardigan and tights for when it's cooler.

So, sewing Japanese:
-I do have a nice print out of typical sewing terms to decipher the language but I didn't use them. I found them afterwards. I will use them in the future.
-Just looking at the diagrams and using my knowledge of sewing worked just fine for this dress. Many people have said this but it's something you just need to try on your own.
Picking a simple dress like this one to start is a good idea
-It's fun.
-Tracing it out was much more tedious however this is due not only to the grid of multiple patterns layering on the page but also that I ran out of dressmaking paper and had to tape 81/2" x 11" pieces together.


I decided on a hand sewn hem and am so happy I did that as it looks really nice that way. I guessed a lot with this pattern and used a different material then I originally thought I would. It feels good to take chances and I love the color. I am not obsessing over little imperfections and I am okay with ironing it or leaving it rumpled.

I see this getting worn so I would say that is a success because sometimes I have made clothes for myself and they just sit there hardly getting worn at all.

Hooray!



And, here is a new hat made with Rowan Cocoon- no pattern here. I just wanted a warm grey hat and this is what resulted. I like it.