Our changing bodies

As we age our bodies change, like it or not, it happens. Sure look at pictures of me and you won’t see any change, but it’s happening.  My waist and hips are getting wider, such is life, I’m not complaining, but I do need to adjust how I sew.

Another change with age is liking things a little more simple. Don’t worry, I won’t be abandoning bright colors and prints, but  I do find that for a party dress – simple is better.

I went to Mood looking for silk, I came home with a cotton twill.You haven’t seen me much in black,  because I like color and pattern.   I chose this pattern because the back of the dress is amazing, the front is nice, but not exciting. Therefore I needed a fabric that would make this dress pop.

A wonderful thing about this print is that it is printed in panels. Most border prints have  the border running along one of the selvedges.  That is fine, it gives you 42″ to work with, this panel is only 36″ long, but the dress will hang better when cut on the straight grain of the fabric, not the crossgrain.I LOVE the end result.  I did have to get creative with my waistline, but it worked out well.Looking good from the side.And the back.Well the skirt looks lovely from the back. Fitting my bodice is a little more of a challenge.  Those creases tell me that the fitting isn’t perfect. But then again, sewing isn’t about being perfect, I clearly have to fine tune some fitting issues – but that is only for me, no one else will notice.How cute is the back V neck and the bow?It’s these small design elements that make a simple dress stand out.When sewing a lapped zipper, it is a good idea to add a few millimeters to the seam allowance, I forgot to do that, so it was very fiddly getting the zipper in correctly, but I got it to work.Yes, I can move in this dress.  So a wedding in two weeks and then the High Holidays, I am loving my new dress.