A springtime dress

I wanted to show you photos of my new dress, but my camera doesn't want to play today. Groovy effects, though. Does anybody know what all these stripes are from? Perhaps the kids have dropped the camera.

This fabric is actually a bright blue and black print on ivory, purchased from a local fabric shop. I have only visited this shop once or twice, and mostly it is not to my taste, so I was quite delighted with this find on Saturday.

There will be other versions, so let me tell you about my plans instead. Next year, when all my children will be locked away in the education system, I am thinking about producing my own patterns. Design-wise, I want to produce simple patterns to serve as a blank canvas for gorgeous fabrics or creative expression. Construction-wise, I want to choose techniques that allow for a lot more fit-on-the-run. Size-wise...I am still gathering data, but there is a good chance that my size base will be more pear-shaped than the major pattern companies (let's face it, pear-shaped is what I know). I have a lot to learn, about a lot of different things, but it should be fun.

I have about half-a-dozen styles in mind, including this dress. I haven't got this dress just right yet. For the next version, I want to play around with the neck-line and strap width. I'm still trying out different pocket ideas. It is hard to see, but on this version I have gathered a larger pocket shape onto a smaller pocket. This makes the pocket sort of bubble out from the dress. It also means that you can't see the stitching, so it is sort of a floating pocket.

Here is another photo, which doesn't show you much other than the fabric colours. Also, I am wearing a shorter version of my vest. You can't see the detail, but it has real welt pockets (Mary Nanna, I am talking to you!). I am coming to love vests, I think I will make more.

Now, what to do about the camera.