Throwback

Completed 2014.

This dress is a simple fit-and-flare with a gathered skirt made from cotton jersey. It’s the oldest self-made garment that is still currently in my possession. Meaning, it’s the only still-wearable apparel I ever made as a teenager, even if I never actually wear it due my tastes having changed. I know that it still fits perfectly fine. Hooray for easy silhouettes! As for difficulty in construction...

Back in 2014 I was sewing a lot of t-shirt knits without really understanding how they worked. I haphazardly drafted a pattern that, in retrospect, would have worked better for woven fabric. I guess I assumed that this un-drapey, medium-weight jersey would work out fine. Thus, the dress has some mistakes design features that ended up being not entirely disastrous but definitely not optimal. Sounding off:

I hacked together a heavily-improvised neckline facing instead of a neckband. 

Understitching too??

I thought I would need to install a back zipper, but when I realized that the fabric stretched horizontally, I could fit the dress over my head and shoulders so I just sewed my two back pieces together into one. There's a very obvious seam down the center back and part of the skirt.

I demanded pockets for myself, as any girl would and should, but adult sewer Marisa understands, as painful as it is to admit, why pockets are not a good idea in the wrong fabric and/or cut. I had the foresight to make the pocket bags out of a woven cotton so they wouldn’t stretch out when carrying a phone or wallet, but the dress itself stretches and the skirt loses shape as it’s being pulled downwards. It doesn’t help that the pockets are sewn into the side seam and are not anchored to the front waist seam, which makes them stupid, free-flapping speedbags-for-legs every time I move my body.

Loaded up with keys, wallet and phone.

The "V" of gravity.

Lastly, I hemmed it weird. Used a straight stitch, didn’t have a walking foot, still don’t, got stretched out, not much I could do about that. I went back a couple years later and re-hemmed everything with a twin needle which helped stop the hems from rolling upwards.

Reexamining the garment, I can see some baby mistakes like loose thread tension or uneven seams. Even if it's poorly made, I'm proud of myself for trying some things. I still think it’s really cute and it appears impressive to say that I made it. I’m fully aware that I don’t have many reasons to keep it. I don’t wear dresses in casual settings, nor do I gravitate towards florals prints like I used to, On the other hand... It’s comfortable as hell, dude.

I’m looking for an opportunity to wear it to a party or to dinner or something. I’m amused by the idea of wearing something that is essentially a t-shirt to somewhere medium-fancy. It deserves to be elevated like that, and so I'll wait for my chance. One day!