More dress thoughts

The more I think about that Mary Quant-style dress I linked to the pattern of yesterday, the more I want to make one.

I downloaded the pattern - both the "big sheet" size and the "print on US sized letterstock and tape together" because I'm not at all sure I can find a place with a big-format printer to print it out. (Also, with the letterstock-and-tape, it would be easier to transport to my parents' house the end of May; I think I may want some help from my mother in fitting it.) And I downloaded the directions.

That's how I found out it has sleeves that are optional - I definitely would want sleeves. Also, it looks like it has small bust darts, which is a plus - I have, um, huge tracts of land, and sometimes flat-front things don't fit well - either they compress things too much, or I have to make them so big and loose that the outfit looks sloppy on me.

I definitely want the variant with the white Peter Pan-esque collar and pocket details; that seems essentially Mod to me.

I'm already contemplating fabric - first I thought maybe I could take a day and go to Whitesboro (during Finals Week - I have a couple open days) and find a nice quilting cotton there, but I think I will try the dressweight fabrics at the JoAnn's in Sherman first; I think I don't want something as crisp and firm as a quilting cotton; maybe even something a little gauzy and drapey.

The sleeveless version takes about 2 1/3 yards of 56" wide fabric....of course sleeves need more, and pretty much the only fabrics you can find these days are 42" wide...There is an online converter. Huh. I was guessing maybe 5 yards but they are saying closer to 3....I will still get five yards (or maybe a bit more, if it's a directional print) to allow for the sleeves and also to be sure I have enough. Often dresses take 5 yards or so....

I do want to try to find a Mod-style print; either large flowers (daisies, I think of those as the "classic" 1960s Mod flower) or maybe a dark blue with a smallish white print of some kind, maybe a geometric (dark blue is one of those colors that suits me well, and I think it would look really crisp with the white collar and pockets). Or maybe a plaid, even though matching plaids is...not fun. (Except on a simple, few-seams dress like this, it's a bit easier, and it matters less if you don't match perfectly).

(At one time in my tween/teen years I thought it might be fun to be a fashion designer. I never pursued it; I realized for one thing my taste wasn't outré enough for high fashion - though I might have been one that average women actually liked, I suppose - but also that my talents lay elsewhere. But I still enjoy envisioning different combinations of styles and prints)

If it turns out well I would like to make a second one, in a heavier fabric - maybe a medium-weight knit - and wear it over tights in the winter. Because Mary Quant dresses of that style were *made* to be worn over tights. (No, I won't go for striped or polka-dotted: too much of the "I'm cosplaying as one of the girls from Austin Powers" and also my legs are a little big to draw that kind of attention to - plain solid colors are just fine).

I miss sewing for myself when I don't have time for it. There's something very satisfying about finding the fabric you want, and the pattern you want, and putting them together (and taking the time to do it RIGHT - one of my gripes with the current "fast fashion" thing* is that a lot of times really shoddy technique is used and it doesn't last. I have dresses I made going on 20 years old that I can still wear, and will until the fabric wears out)

(*I also object to the fact that they are often made in places where the people  making them are not paid well, not even for a nation where the cost of living/standard of living is lower than the US. Of course, there's maybe also that issue with the fabric you buy too....but then you CAN find US-made fabric, or fabric from reputable mills....)

I also have the Stitch fabric and the pattern for a nightgown, but that should go fast because knits work up fast AND ALSO you don't have to be quite so scrupulous about finishing seams as with a woven fabric.

But it is nice to have some projects to look forward to over my break.