Rooibos Dress

This is the story of my Rooibos dress… the most ambitious thing I’ve sewn to date, at least for myself.

I made a muslin! I finally made a muslin. And it was SO worth it. It really takes so little time since you don’t have to hem or do facings. And it’s only a couple of minutes of cutting. I figured that I’d make the size that fit my waist and hips, even though my upper body warranted a lower size according to the package. I painstakingly tissue-fitted, did my small bust adjustment, figured out the construction, and put it all together. The bodice was great, but the rest was still ginormous! But it helped me figure out the size I did need, 2 sizes down. The small bust adjustment I’d worked out was basically the same as the smaller pattern piece, so I went with that instead.

I made it out of ponte knit, which is a synthetic. Normally I stay away from synthetics, but I was attracted to the idea of a knit that acts like a woven. At least that’s what I’d read. I ordered it sight unseen, so I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting. I’m not sure it really does act like a woven though – it’s pretty stretchy. I used a walking foot to feed the material through my machine, as it was also quite thick.

It is so, so comfy. I love it. I kind of wish I’d chosen a different fabric for the piping. I like the colour, but I’m not sure they go. Still, I wore it to work and even got a couple of compliments! Sorry though, you are not getting a photo of me in this dress without a child in it.

Rooibos Dress

Also, I need to hand-tack down that collar thing. The instructions recommend it, but I didn’t as I though pressing would be enough. See, there you go:

Rooibos

One thought on “Rooibos Dress”

Comments are closed.