30/07/2016

Seamwork Catarina Dress

What's this?!?  A dress?!?  I haven't sewn a dress in ages!  I had been so caught up in tops and tees and bras that I haven't sewn myself a dress in quite a while.  As with my Stripey Linen Scout Tee I posted the other day, this baby was sewn up at the end of Me Made May 2016, so naturally I'm getting around to posting about it at the very end of July.

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The pattern is the Seamwork Catarina Dress.  Overall, I'm about happy with how the dress turned out, but there are a few things I would do differently if I make this pattern again.  The fabric I used is some thick(er) rayon I picked up from the ends table at my local Fabricland.  I found this stuff literally days after the pattern came out and it was exactly what I had been looking for!  The fabric is the perfect weight for this kind of dress, not at all sheer, and nice and flowy.  It feels like a dream against freshly shaved legs (or not, if that's your thing 😉).



The elastic waist is so fantastic.  It always fits, even if I'm having a bloated day.  This dress would probably work really well for a summery maternity dress as well!  


A couple things about this pattern... The pattern pieces for the back of the skirt come in two separate pieces that you then sew together.  I don't know if this was done to make cutting out fabric more efficient, but I chose the lazy route and just cut out the front skirt piece twice!  Why bother with a back skirt seam if there is no zipper?  Also, for me I had to take in the sides about 1" under each armpit to avoid an overly baggy bust-area.  Not sure if anyone else has had this issue?  Not a big one at all though, and good to know for the next time!  


Also, (and this is a personal preference) I hate spaghetti straps.  HATE them.  I gave these ones a try, and used some leftover silver hoops and sliders from my bra supply stash, but I really don't like them at all.  I don't like having to wear a strapless bra, so I usually just wear a nude one with this dress but then feel weird about my bra straps showing.  The straps also seem to get twisted in the wash (ain't nobody got time for hand-washing) and it is a pain to straighten them out.  I think I've seen some versions of this dress out there that have wider straps, so I may give that a try next time.




Another lazy thing was that I didn't bother with the thread chains to hold up the belt.  I hate those things and usually cut them off RTW dresses.  The little belt (which I love - definitely ties the whole thing together - pun 100% intended) stays on fine all day without those dumb little things at the sides.

So yes, overall I'm pleased with the pattern, and would recommend!  I'm not sure if I'll have time to sew up another this summer (end of July already? wtf?) but I'll have it in my back pocket for when I start next summer's sewing.

I wasn't up to photographing myself in the dress, but here are a couple shots that I have from MMMay, and from when I wore it out with my husband on a fancy date night downtown (we won a one-night stay in the Chateau Laurier!  So fun!)



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