Shibori Emery Summer Dress

Hey there happy sewists.  If you don't recognize this dress its the Emery Dress by Christine Haynes.  I happily snatched it up from Pink Chalk Fabrics because after seeing this version from Fancy Tiger Crafts  who could resist?

I love the idea of this dress, a vintage throw back feel with that 60's housewife vibe to it.  I really don't know why I love that idea- who knows- but its a silhouette that feels fun and I gravitate toward making dresses because of the fun of wearing them.  While I love this kind of dress I also think it can borderline frumpy so my feeling is that scooping out the neck and shortening the hemline helps combat that fine line between vintage and frumpty-dumpty.

I first tried this pattern out with a vintage poly/cotton fabric and this is my second time to make it with changes for a better fit.  The first time I made a size 6 which was more in line with my measurements but it felt a little big, so on this one I made a size 4 in the chest and a 6 in the waist and hips.  I also moved the bust darts around a bit- I shorted the side dart by an inch and scooted the waist darts toward the side by about a half inch.  I like the fit better.  I wished I'd stabilized the neckline more because it stretched out a lot during construction as linen is prone to do.  You can probably see that the back waistline looks stretched downward too, I think this is because the linen stretched with the zipper application but I can't be sure because the other one I made did this a bit too.  Any of you more seasoned sewists have any ideas about why it looks like this and what I might do next time to correct it?

The fabric is a thrifted linen sheet that I've held onto for far too long.  I tried my hand at shibori tye dye and I really love the result.  I scanned a few DIY posts online about the technique and kind of winged it.  I accordion folded the fabric and bound it with a bunch of rubber bands and soaked it for a half a day in liquid violet RIT dye.  The linen was already well-broken in and soft feeling but dyeing it made it even softer.  Since the sheet was pretty aged I had to cut around some holes and stains but no biggie since there was plenty of fabric.    

These outside shots are a little dark but I had to include them.  My oldest (who is 5) took them and I'm feelin' like a pretty sentimental Momma right now.  She starts school in a couple of short days and it hit me hard today that the little voice singing to her stuffed cat in the other room wouldn't be there everyday and I'm really gonna miss her.  Waahhh!  

Choosing to stay at home with my kids has been the hardest and the best thing I've ever done.  It is a mixed bag but I don't regret a second of it even on its toughest days.  I decided to stay home because I just wanted all that time with my child- its a personal decision and definitely not for everyone...no judgement AT ALL here on anyone who chooses differently.  But I am so glad I've had this extra time with this little person- she is amazing.

  

So I'll drown my Momma tears in some graham crackers in a minute- but now back to the sewing, if you're wondering about the Emery dress, the only other dress I've made with as many bodice darts as this one was the Colette Peony and I had to make many more adjustments to its bodice than to the Emery.  So I guess if I were to compare the two, the Emery has less fitting adjustments but the Peony has a very different skirt (less full than the Emery) that actually I prefer.  So one day maybe I'll do a frankenpattern and combine the skirt of the Peony and the bodice of the Emery.  But for now I'm loving this one and the softness of that aged linen, its really comfy and breathable in our hot southern summers.   

Linking up to Frontier Dreams: Keep Calm, Craft On.