A victory in silk

Oh dear. There’s been lots of sewing but little blogging around these parts, and I fear that you’ve been missing seams and serging and what not.

But worry no longer! Because thanks to Mr. B I finally have some photos of one of my latest makes, in the loveliest place in the world: Boston Public Gardens in the autumn.

As those who know me are more than aware, I pretty much only wear wrap dresses – a uniform of sorts. What can I say? They are flattering, feel like pyjamas, and people always think you look dressed up. Bingo. However, they are a little… boring. So I was pleased when Victory patterns came out with their Nicola dress, which is a wrap dress with a twist. It’s made for woven (not stretchy) fabrics, with a cute petal-like skirt and sleeves.

I made it using a grey silk that I bought at Mood Fabrics LA about 6 months ago. I used the “wrong” side – the right side was super shiny and I concluded I was unlikely to wear a shiny silk dress; instead, I used the matte side which worked out much better. It was definitely a bit of a challenge making it fit – I had to do an FBA and did 2 muslins to make it work – and in the end, probably could have done with making the waistline a bit lower.

However, overall, I’m fairly happy! It turned out too short to be a dress, but paired with some leggings and my lovely MaraisUSA grey suede wedges I think it looks pretty good: