Saturday, December 12, 2015

Holiday dress and other curiosities...


OK, bear with me - it has red in it, and it's the season, so it's a holiday dress! 

Actually, this is another of those hard-to-use fabrics that has been in my stash for ages. And it's an ITY knit to boot. Silky, smooth, and slippery. After I made my first Simplicity 2031 maxi dress in the black and white abstract print ITY, my confidence level went up. So I gave this a go.



Unlike the abstract print, this one was a bit of a beast to place and cut. It has so many shapes and patterns going on...but I love it.


As with my first version, I sewed the size 12, with about 4.5" additional length in the sleeve.


I like the longer sleeve length for myself, but it's beautiful at its original length. Ashley loves hers that way. And once my arms are 'presentable' I might well remove the extra length from both of mine.


A little tip. If you decide to do this in a knit - the pattern suggests woven fabrics, but, hey, that's their opinion. All three of the ones I've sewn are in a knit fabric.

It's a good idea to reinforce the first 5" of the upper sleeve seam, neckline out across the shoulder, to stabilize it. I used a lightening/elastic stitch to sew the seam. And then I sewed a 5" long piece of 1/4" twill tape inside the seam allowance as below.


And serged/cut the seam allowance at 3/8" to finish, from neckline to the end of the sleeve. A steam press to turn the SA to the back, and I felled the entire seam.



The result is a stabilized shoulder and a very comfortable finish on the inside.


Now - those other curiosities.

(1) I just noticed how much red I have in my hair. I just used a new hair dye called 'high-lift brown'. Not sure what that's all about but it's weird! Call it holiday hair. I would love natural, light red hair. Failing that, I'm going to try some other color. No, not blue, as least not for now. Well, maybe a blue streak?

(2) I upgraded to Windows 10 on my laptop back when it came out. And it is a nightmare. I've been using Chrome as my web browser. and it just putters along under Windows 10. And Windows 10 is like Big Brother - do this, not that, use this, sorry you can't use that.  I've done everything I can to fix it (gosh, I have a B.S. computer science, I should be able to do something about it...). But I'm done with it. I'm on Firefox at the moment,  but I'm thinking I'll treat myself to a MAC laptop for Christmas. I have an iMac, which does not fit on my lap! but it's a great computer. Fast, clean, edgy. And I have Firefox on it already. So -  I think I'm done with having a Windows laptop.

I just can't stand the imposed aggravation! It's like having Windows police in my living room!

End of rant. Ciao! Coco

32 comments:

  1. Love the dress. Every time you make this dress, I like it even more.
    My naturally ginger hair has gone mostly grey, so my hairdresser and I have been experimenting. I did not like an overall color and what we came up with is streaks of a reddish brown throughout; two thirds grey and one third the red streaks. I love it.

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    1. Thanks, Patsijean. I'm jealous of your highlights! I had them for years, back when I was working and could afford a hairdresser. Must be beautiful!

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  2. This is so lovely and beautifully finished!

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  3. You'll like Apple so much better! All my personal devices are Apple, and I have to use a Windows laptop for work. Yuck!

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    1. I do like Apple better. I have my iMac and iPad. But...I've had to rethink my purchase of a Macbook - I'm off to the dentist today for work on crowns. There goes my budget!

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  4. Love the dress Coco, and have fun with picking a new hair color. I am sometimes tempted to go blonde...

    oh, sorry about your computer problems. I have 10 on my desktop and have had zero concerns. My tablet is not getting that upgrade.

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    1. Thanks, Mary. I used to be blonde when I was working and could afford the salon visits. Loved it. The computer - using Firefox is much better in Windows 10. Go figure. Win 10 is so much faster than Win 7, but it bugs me to have so many unbidden apps and mandated updates and security...

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  5. Love your tip for stabilizing the shoulder seam, I have filed it away for future use 8-). And, the dress looks lovely on you.

    A friend downloaded Windows 10 and I was trying to help her with something and it was a nightmare, and now you are having problems. Nope, not going there. I so want a MAC. Maybe the next one.

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    1. Thanks, Elle. The stabilizing tape is easy and works. I can't use clear elastic/elastane tape because it bothers my skin, so I came up with the twill tape alternative.

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  6. Oh great dress, and the holiday hair is in keeping with the season after all. I haven't had a PC for years. We are a divided household though, I'm Apple all the way and DH is the other.

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    1. Thanks, Theresa. I would seriously like a blue streak but I'm chicken!

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  7. Love the print! And I like the longer sleeve length, too.

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  8. I just bought a Mac Pro laptop two days ago and just love it. I am a Mac person all the way. You will like it. It is so fast and works so easy.
    I love the dress you made too.

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  9. Love the dress - the large print fabric works very well with the fabric! Good luck with a Mac - I moved from Windows to Apple earlier in the year and I'm struggling to find a decent (but simple) photo editing programme (I used to use Picasa and it does NOT play nice on a Mac).

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    1. Thanks so much. I use both Picasa and Photoscape on my iMac. Haven't had any issues with Picasa, fingers crossed. Might help if you uninstall it and then do a new download.

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  10. What a lovely dress! And such a wonderful print!

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    1. thanks Irene! The print is so pretty, much better in person than in the photos.

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  11. Always enjoy your post and can see why you've made this dress again--lovely. Your use of prints and color are an inspiration. I've started to look at all kinds of prints and don't have them in my stash except for a couple animal prints. I do add some prints thru the use of scarves. I, too, jumped on the Win10 bandwagon and thinking of going back to Win7. Happy Holidays and look forward to your next post. P.S. Order the vintage dart marker and can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for your ideas.

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    1. Thanks, Margene. Prints can be fun and uplifting :-) I hope you like your new marker too - I wouldn't part with mine for anything!

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  12. I love it ! Just the thing for hosting something at Christmas.Or a get together with sisters! Or for Saturday night dinner and a movie at home ! Or...lots of other things !
    We've resisted Windows 10 so far and after all the negatives I've heard about it, I'm not going there ! Thanks for reinforcing my hesitation about it.

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    1. Thanks, Diana. Well, I am sorry I upgraded to Win 10. It's faster but it's also a beast.

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  13. Thanks so much for the Windows ten report. I haven't jumped the broom yet on that one and really appreciate you review. As far as the hair, both of my daughters look very much like me but they are flaming redheads. I've often wondered if I should take that chance. Yours looks great.

    Love you dress. You always look so Florida appropriate and so comfortable yet still feminine, if all that makes sense.

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    1. Flaming redheads - how beautiful. I would do it except that red dyes seem to pink out on gray hair. And thank you! Florida is sometimes hard - I miss other options but wouldn't move for anything (other to follow my daughter is she moves to Salem, Mass!)

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  14. Another lovely dress. And twice I've shut down my computer when it was supposedly loading Windows 10, because it was taking hours. I won't bother now that I've read your comments about it. Since retiring in June I've hardly touched my laptop. I use my iPad to get around. So it's not really necessary to upgrade to 10 anyway.

    Thanks for another lovely post. Your posts are always informative in addition to presenting well made garments.

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    1. Thanks, Nanci. That upgrade does take hours. Frustrating.

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  15. Thanks for the windows 10 warning. Your dress is lovely - i have made a maxi skirt which I love but perhaps I should make a maxi dress too - it would be good for keeping that harsh Aussie sun off my skin.

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    1. Thanks, Janine. Oh, for sure make a maxi dress! I live in them...so comfortable.

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  16. Beautiful dress, lovely job as always. The longer sleeves - my thoughts go to protection against A/C. It's always so cold in stores and restaurants. I love the intricate patterns in the fabric, mixed with the bold black geometric pattern. Really neat. Hope your Jed pants are coming along nicely and Ashley is healing and feeling well.

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    1. Thanks, girlfriend. The sleeves do help with cold A/C, for sure! Ashley is doing so well, she has one more week before returning to work. I hope she'll be able to do some media artwork and really enjoy the forced downtime!

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I love it that you came by...and thank you for your comments! Coco