The good news: I made my first dress! The bad news: it doesn’t fit. I know it looks quite wearable in the photo but that’s only because there is a binder clip holding it together at the back :) But let’s start from the beginning and please excuse my scary face expression in the picture.

I really wanted to try the Kimono Dress from Heather Ross Weekend Sewing and found the perfect linen for it, but before I screw up the 24 Euro/meter fabric, I thought I’d go with something cheaper first. So I bought this really cheap dotted viscose that was pretty enough to wear it in public if the dress would turn out fine. 

The pattern was really easy to follow, up to the point where you have to join the bodice with the skirt, using elastic thread to shirr the fabric. I don’t know if it’s my machine, the fabric, the thread or my sewing skills, but I couldn’t get the fabric to shirr up for the life of me. Any tips on that? Fortunately I still had some elastic lying around, so I just sewed in an elastic waistband and tried it on. Well, guess what: the bodice is waaaayyy too big. I have no idea how to fix this, other than ripping the thing apart and even then I don’t know how much I have to take in. And if I take in the bodice, I have to make the same adjustments with the skirt too, but that one is fitting quite nicely. The skirt still needs hemming and I didn’t make the obi sash (I used a scarf for the picture) because there is no point in an obi if I don’t have the dress to were it with, now is there?

Even though I can’t wear the dress it still feels good that I made it! I can’t just go on making more bags. Oh wait that’s not true :)