Another swing dress!

I finished sewing my second swing dress over a month ago. But the first time I wore it, it rained all day and I couldn't get pictures. I wore it again last week so finally, here it is. :)

 

 

I kept all of the alterations I used in the first swing dress. So this time around was really quite easy, after I got around the awfully boring task of basting underlining to the real fabric and then overcasting all the raw edges before I started.

 

I used 100% rayon fabric that I got on sale at Fabric.com a long time ago. It's heavier and not as sheer as the rayon challis I used last time. It's supposed to be blue, but in every light it looks black. At first I thought it looked much too similar to the fabric used in my last swing dress, but the colors are definitely softer and not as contrasty.

 

This dress is constructed exactly like the first one. The only difference is I didn't add a button on the overlapping part of the bodice. A brooch didn't look quite right there for me, either, so I just sewed it up by hand to make the neckline higher.

 

Speaking of brooches, I'm so excited that I finally have a dress that this brooch looks right on! I got this one at an antique store months ago but it's heavy and most of my summer shirts couldn't hold it up. But it looks perfect with this dress. :) It's one of my favorites.

 

I think this pattern is the most flattering dress pattern I've ever used. I know that of the dresses I've made, these two are my favorites and the ones I feel most comfortable in.

 

Sometimes I also think it looks a bit like a grandma dress. {I'm surprisingly okay with that. :)} I don't know why...I guess the fabric or the sleeves or something. Especially when I wear it a brooch on it. Brooches make me think of Granny. She was a Pentecostal Holiness girl and didn't believe in wearing jewelry. But she always wore a brooch and a wristwatch. She didn't even wear a wedding band, but always a brooch to church and out and about. :)

 

{When the Dark Shadows movie was coming out in theaters, my parents were talking about how their mothers used to watch the soap opera on TV. The fact that Granny watched any soap opera, much less one involving vampires and ghosty things, blew my mind. And made me smile. :) }

 

Here's a picture of her in the 40s wearing a dress that looks similar in style to this pattern...it even looks like it could have been made from rayon!

 

 

I underlined with broadcloth that matches the blue part of the flowers in the fabric, hoping it would make the dress look more navy instead of black. Didn't work...oh, well. :)

It feels nice to see my pile of fall fabric growing a bit smaller as I check something else off the sewing list. :)

Until next time,