The Seasalt Dress

I'm not always the best at coming up with creative titles, but this might be one of my worst. It's a Saltspring dress! And the print reminds me of the sea!

When I first spotted the pattern on the Sewaholic website, I knew it would be perfect for my second maxi dress. Tasia really excells at making patterns that are a brilliant blank canvas: this dress is far from boring in itself, but I can see it work in loads of different prints or colours.

So here's mine:

(The pictures are a bit dark, it was a rainy day and we didn't have time until quite late! I used some Photoshop trickery, but this just won't be my brightest post ever)

I made this dress like a wearable muslin, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. The fabric is a cheap, lightweight cotton from a local fabric store, with an abstract print. It could have been a bit drapier in the bodice, but overall I'm happy with the fit. I might add some width to the back on my next version (something I did for my second Cambie as well) because I feel like there's a bit of pulling there.

I didn't notice how the blousy part had been pushed upwards when I climbed on the thing I'm standing on, that's why it looks a bit funny in this shot. Everyone and their mother already mentioned the ingenious construction of the bodice, but I'll just say it again: the lining is shorter than the shell, which causes the blousing. No tugging all day to get the dress to lie the way you want it to!

This is the first elastic-waisted thing (for daywear) that I've made in a very long time. I'm not too fond of elastic waists in dresses, I always considered them a bit of lazey fitting, but it really does the trick in this one. The blousing conceals the elastic most of the time, and I feel like I can eat an elephant.

I was also surprised to figure out I could keep wearing this dress into the autumn! It's described as a summer dress for hot days, but I think it works just as well with tights, boots and a jacket. Good, because I'm not tired of wearing this just yet and things are getting chilly here!

I only made one change to the pattern, and that was to use the strap variation demonstrated in this tutorial. I wear a lot of bags with straps that sit right on my shoulder, and liked the extra bra strap coverage this variation gives. I've already worn this dress multiple times since I finished it, and it's only encouraged my love for maxi lengths!

In the meantime, I'm packing away in my bedroom, sifting through years and years of notebooks, sketchbooks, drawings and other stuff. Deciding what comes with me and what stays behind or thrown away isn't too hard, but finding a way to get all my stuff into the appartment will be a challenge!