Spring Dress Part 1

I bring you, ladies and gentlemen, an account of my most recent project. Unfortunately, I can't show you the final pictures yet because I lost my camera cable. But until I find it, here's a briefing on the making-of.

I started out with a short, hideous, very wide women's shirt with a leaf pattern on it. Working with Doris, my dressform, I pinched and pinned darts, resizing it to a cute halter top with a sweetheart neckline.

From all my projects I have accumulated a very large stash of scraps and remnants that I say I'll use, but probably never will. Finally, I had a purpose for them! I took strips of many colors and pinned them to the halter. I used a zigzag stitch on the edges, not bothering to finish anything. My goals in making this were simply to have fun, experiment, and NOT use a pattern under any circumstances.

Here you can see the top after being covered in strips, and completely stitched. After this, I cut off the straps and made new ones of the striped pink and white fabric you see in the middle of the bodice. I zigzag-ed the edges of six strips and braided them into two separate straps, creating a funky, rough-edged detail.

This was my experimentation with skirt ideas. I ended up doing something much, much different, but it was fun for me to try different ways to drape the material, and how the different fabrics (satin, cotton) worked together and hung together.

As soon as I get my hands on that cable, I'll post my newest pictures and detail how I've finished it.