The Original Satsuki

Aloha! I made this one approx half a year ago and it hasn't made it to the blog yet. Why? I don't know, I felt a little squeamish about the pics looking a bit airbrushed (they were very kindly edited by a photographer friend) and its not the kind of the angle I want to take with my blerg. Anyway, I ummed and aaahed about posting them. But then I got over that, and thought, it's a dress, it's a post and right now being mega distracted in full Craft Sessions prep mode, I'm scrounging up all the posts I can get. So I give you, the original Satsuki dress, the one before this cut-out one. 

I made this one for a special occasion. The special occasion being that I was leaving the house for an occasion. A partaaay or a 'gathering' isn't that what it's called nowadays? Anyway it was at a swanky (cringe) underground 1940's style bar so it deserved a new dress. That was after I bought some over-priced pants that I then couldn't return when I decided only a dress would do. Anyway, the event was on a Saturday night and round about Wednesday it a seemed a perfectly do-able, even sensible idea to just 'whip up a Satsuki'. Like an omelette!

The fabric is a silk crepe de chine from here. I know it's all silk this, silk that these days but the ratio of silks to cottons (and other perfectly practical fibres) that we get in is pretty high. Anyway, I really loved this pattern, I mentioned here how it nips you in at the right bits and I think it's a style that flatters a huge variety of figures. It's put together really nicely too and I appreciated the lessons learned in hemming curved sections of seams by pulling a thread. My only gripe is that being a bit round shouldered, my shoulders never seem to poke through the little cutouts, which creep to the back so the dress is heavily 'arranged' in these pics.

Well it wasn't exactly 'whipped up', I finished it on the night of said event, pretty much on the way out the door and did a double fold hem because I was already running late. So not the delicate hand-stitching this fabric probably deserved but what's a girl to do. I highly recommend this one. It also makes up into a top, check out Crab and Bee's lovely shibori dyed version. I had a good time before I hit my wall and just wanted to be at home in bed. Or sewing. #antisewcial