It is said the two best days in the life of a boat owner are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat. I’d like to extend the joke to writing a book…… thrilled to sign the contract, but good gosh, were we ever happy to put the manuscript in the hands of the publisher!
Honestly, how do some people manage to live these beautifully balanced lives?
Writing and planning another wedding tipped the scales to all work and no play. But now, I am back at play…
Recently I’ve been on multiple shopping trips with Mimi, my bride-to-be, who is in search of wedding festivity attire. Neoprene is everywhere……. and the dresses I saw were either column-like and designed for a 5’10″ model, or featured a fitted bodice with a very flared skirt ………. and they were expensive.
I ordered Mood Fabric’s Peacock Kaleidoscopic Digitally Printed Stretch Neoprene with Vogue 9047 in mind; a pattern I made in the sleeveless version last Spring.
While the pattern is simple, the fabric required careful placement.
I really love the flattering and slightly raised waistline of the dress,
and hoped placing the darker portion of the design at the top of skirt pattern piece would create an illusion of a longer, leaner me 
This is my third neoprene project, and I’ve learned to keep a silk organza press cloth close by as this fabric does not like direct heat. Otherwise neoprene is very easy to sew.
After watching my co-author, Julie whip together a garment in record breaking time using the flat sleeve placement, I followed suit easily manipulating the ease of the sleeve in place. Within a few minutes both sleeves were attached, problem-free.
This method affected the remaining construction order which was unproblematic since the pattern is such an easy one. Rather than sew the side seams of the bodice together followed by the side seams of the skirt together and attaching the two in a circular seam at the waist, I attached the skirt to the bodice front as a flat piece, repeated at the back. Beginning with the bottom edge of the sleeve, I pinned the front and back together finishing at the lower edge of the skirt. The dress sewn together as two flat pieces with two very long seams worked beautifully on this fabric and pattern combination. The seam allowances were finished with the serger prior to hemming the sleeves and dress.
I attached a lightweight piece of fusible knit interfacing to the lower edge of the hem before folding and topstitching (enlarge to see better)…..
ant then folded under 1″, stitched at 3/4″ and trimmed 1/4″ next to the stitching line for a neat finish. The interfacing stabilizes the fabric, and the Fiskers gold-plated scissors are designed to lie flat while cutting enabling an easy and close trim.
Speaking of hems, I placed the hemline a little longer hitting the knee to keep me warm during our cool Fall weather
Seriously, the pattern illustration features an almost knee-length hem which is nicely proportioned to the raised waistline,
and a great safety net for spontaneous celebratory moments.
HAPPY SEWING EVERYONE!