Summer In The Front, Drama In The Back

I've been making a lot of basics lately, to replace things that have gotten too big or just too worn out. All very nice and good, but sometimes I just want to sew something special and a bit more challenging than a t-shirt! I had bought the Centaurée pattern a while ago because it really intrigued me, but had not gotten around to making it yet. Well, it finally happened!

Deer and Doe patterns tend to fit me quite well without adjustments, but because of the unusual style lines on this I did make a quick muslin. I ended up taking a little bit out of the waist and not much else! The pattern itself is unlined but a few tips are given for a cleaner finish inside. I went for a bodice underlining in a black cotton voile. After sewing all those front seams and the side seams I basted the two bodices together and treated them as one from that point. Easy!

The main feature that attracted me to this pattern are of course those style lines on the front bodice. They make for some really interesting looking pattern pieces and it's a bit of a puzzle to get everything to fit together, but the result is worth it! The only thing I'm peeved about is how my points don't line up exactly at the center- I unpicked and resewed it a few times but this was the best I could do without the fabric fraying too much.

About that fabric: I bought it at a Dries Van Noten stocksale last year, mostly for the colour and without a specific plan in mind. I'm not sure what it is, my guess is some kind of heavy brushed viscose twill... It didn't melt after I set it on fire, so that's something. It's hard to tell in photos but the colour is great in real life- a very deep burgundy with hints of black in the background. I had enough fabric to cut the high-low skirt so just went for that, even though that makes the dress a bit dramatic for daily wear!

 I really like the shape of the skirt. The fabric is a bit heavier than what was recommended, but I kind of like the body it gives! My only gripe is the lack of pockets. I know it is possible to do inseam pockets with an invisible side zip, but I was afraid it would get too bulky.

Another thing I liked about this pattern was the use of bias tape to create the straps and finish the edges of the bodice at once. I had just enough fabric left to cut a few longer strips, and carefully positioned them so the seams would be in inconspicuous places. I ended up basting the tape in place before topstitching the straps, which made that process a lot smoother than I expected! The fiddliest part was the little v at the front, but that turned out really nice.

My bra band isn't usually visible in this, and the boyfriend didn't notice. Bummer.

I think it's due to my bulkier fabric, but the straps did not want to lie as shown by the pattern, so I let them do what they wanted, which was crossing over and doing something else in the back. I hand sewed them to the inside of the bias edging and the lining, which looks clean on the outside and sort of clean on the inside!

I'm not sure if I need many of these in my life, but it was a really fun pattern to put together and I thoroughly enjoyed it!