Having rescued the correct draft of the Prima pattern I plan to proceed with making up the  Navy Blue Ponte Jersey that I bought from Fabricland in Salisbury. As inspired by an advertisement for www.gudrunsjoden.com I  will have some machine embroidery  on the sleeve hems and at the neckline of  this simple shift style. I will include some bust and body shaping darts but exclude the large pockets at hip level as otherwise the dress could make me look heavier than I really am.

Inspirations:-

I just love gudrunsjoden clothing and by using them as inspiration I can have a very personal and unique wardrobe for the coming season.

As promised, this dress, after a great deal of fitting finessing, is now completed. Having used the wrong version of the pattern, the dress was initially way toooooo big with bust darts finishing approximately 2 inches above my personal bust point ! I have taken in the sides by approximately 2″ per side it is now a much better fit than at the original first fitting, when I nearly gave up on the whole project. The fabric, bought online through eBay, was sold as Ponte Jersey and in my ignorance I was expecting it to be a little heavier and a bit more substantial, consequently the dress does not have quite the drape I was hoping for.  (Lesson learned – when using a new fabric/fibre, best to check out the fabric for real rather than online photographs and descriptions). The hem of the sleeves and bias frill is top-stitched with a twin needle, a new procedure for me. As shown in the 3rd photo in order to reduce bulk I used a remnant of purple pin-spot cotton for the neckline facings .  I show the dress both with and without the animal print snood. Whilst I have the machine threaded up with Purple thread I will make another snood/infinity scarf with the leftovers of the Purple jersey to provide yet another styling option.

 Sewing has taken rather a back seat whilst I have been recovering but at the same time I just can’t keep away from the machine! I  have been working on yet another version of the Prima Dress (no 50) using a Light Purple Ponte Jersey. It took a while to completely re-thread the Juki overlocker with Purple thread and yet another session just to cut out the dress. Unfortunately at first fitting stage I discovered that  I had used a drafted version of the pattern made when I was a “little” larger size than I am now! Having taken in over 1″ at each side seam and re-sewn the bust darts twice (!) this has not been the simple straightforward project that I originally planned. Still I will get there. Hopefully once all the refinements and adjustments have been  completed plus the dress has had the final press it will be worn in conjunction with …. the Leopard Print Snood. Please see the next post.