Sunday safari :: one day dress

I can count on one hand the number of things I've sewn to wear. One was my wedding dress - which I had major help with. One was a refashioned pair of jeans into a skirt. Does that count? The other three items were also skirts, with varying degrees of wearability. Yet still, with this less than stellar track record, I was determined to sew something for myself when Rachel {of stitched in color} announced a knit fabric challenge sponsored by the Fabricworm.

I was so surprised and excited {like totally made my day} when I heard that Rachel had picked me for this challenge. My track record didn't have me scared - I'd heard knit can be pretty forgiving.  And stretch! No need for major olympics to get something to fit right. So I was off and running to nail down my plan. I thought immediately - tank dress.  Something simple and just in time for the summer weather we're already having.

This was the tutorial that got me thinking. It seemed easy enough and that it'd be a quick sew. Just what I needed.  For the binding and more tips on sewing the tank portion I found this tutorial by Anna {at Noodle-Head}. I drafted my tank pattern from an Old Navy tank that I wear a bunch. If you combined the drafting, cutting, and sewing time I probably spent just about a day working on this dress.  Hence, the 'one day dress'.

I had the hardest time picking out fabric, but what's new? It was slightly easier since I didn't have the universe of fabrics to choose from. For this challenge we picked fabrics from Birch Organics.  After much deliberations I chose these two.

I had planned to put the print on the top and the solid on the bottom and after seeing the fabrics in person I thought that was still a good idea.  The print was a bit more substantial, with a better stretch recovery.  Better for the top side, I thought. I got it washed and ready to go right away - then it was a matter of tracing a pattern for the top, cutting, and stitching.

It came together easily and pretty quickly too. And yes, knit is forgiving. My stitching wasn't perfect but not that you can tell once its on.  That's the test of a winner... is it on?  I finished up sewing just in time to have Lukas snap a few photos, then I was off to hot yoga.  After my shower, the dress went right back on.  That's the sign of a winner, right?

Never one to be serious.