The Introvert Dress

In college, someone in my circle who I knew for a few months shared an assessment of me. They described me as "hard to meet, but easy to know". They explained that it took a while to connect with me, but once one did, our relationship was easy. As an introvert this made perfect sense to me and I appreciated the simple way they summarized it.

As I was working on my latest project for Nature's Fabrics, I was reminded of that description. I used Vogue 9237 to make what I'm calling my introvert dress.

From the front you get a very sedate and neutral look, but the back is an opportunity for bold visual interest.

For Me Made May, I have been playing with adding quilty elements to my garments. (I did not blog all of them but you can take a peek at them here on Instagram). I love this pattern because it has the option of the contrast panel back. I thought this would be a perfect canvas to add some interest to this wonderful tan linen from Nature's Fabrics.

For the contrast, I used a jelly roll quilt pack that I purchased from Austin Creative reuse. It's a Moda fabric collection from a few years ago.

I stitched the long ends together and then drew horizontal vertical and diagonal lines along the wrong side of the fabric. I stitched a quarter inch along both sides of the line and then cut the marked line open. This gave me rectangles stitched together on an angle. It's the same concept as the Magic 8 half square triangles. Because this is not a square my output is a little different.

I pressed those seams open and then pieced them randomly together to form my base fabric. From that, I cut my two back pieces. The rest of the construction came together quickly and easily per the pattern instructions.

I love the unassuming look of the front of this dress.

The bold color in the back is a fun reward for giving this one a chance.

I made the size medium in the sleeved version. I began by making the sleeveless version, but I did not like it once I did. The sleeves are faced with bias tape and I felt they extended past my shoulder in an awkward way. If the dress did not have the patchwork, I would have simply trimmed the armscye to fit. As it is, I did not want to cut through the multiple seams of the piecing. I instead opted to add sleeves.

The hem on this dress is slightly higher in the front than the back. A friend made this and mentioned that fact. Until I remembered it, I thought either it was poorly drafted or I did something wrong.

I love a lightweight linen dress to help contend with the heat of the Summer. I love the cantaloupe color Nature's Fabrics offers, so I may revisit this pattern.

I will be taking a machine sewing break for a bit. I will be down for yet another knee surgery. I will not know how long recuperation I will take until the procedure is done.

I will be using the down time to continue to prepare for my Represent! Embroidery book release on September 25. I appreciate any prayers, good vibes and positive thoughts you care to send my way. Thanks!

Happy sewing,

Bianca