This Makes Me Want To Take Up Skating

Yesterday, I lost some. Today, I won... In 2.5 hours (from cutting to hemming), I made a Lady Skater in my Liberty jersey.

Lest you think that the process was quick because I've done it so many times before - this is but my second version. And it's as fucking awesome as the first.

In some ways, this one is better than the first one because today I was on my game, I'd made it once before and my workmanship (what with stars aligning) was stellar.

I love this dress. It's so intuitive to create, so simple (but elegant), a whole outfit in the time it would take to make a T shirt. And really, it looks so good on me, people at work have emailed to tell me that they saw me in the hallway and my dress is awesome (plus where did I get it?). I make a lot of things, and many of them are well-complimented (to my great pride), but this one is in a class of its own. It just works.

How do I feel about the Liberty Fabric, having used it for the first time?

It's beautiful to work with, no question (though this seems non-optional to me what with it costing 40 bucks a yard). It sews easily, it feels great. The drape is perfect. If money were no object, and the offerings were plentiful, I could see myself using this stuff most of the time. I can say that it fades slightly (almost imperceptibly) over the bust (where it stretches the most). I wouldn't want to make the dress any larger - it fits really well and I really like the amount of negative ease in the bust - but this doesn't happen with my striped version. I wonder if it has something to do with the way the fabric was dyed or the extent to which it has been dyed (it's VERY saturated). Don't get me wrong, this fading is almost unobservable and it will likely disappear altogether as the fabric stretches over a wearing or two, but I find it odd. Before my next purchase, I will stretch my Liberty jersey very taut to see how the fabric changes with stretching.

In terms of the look of the fabric, it is mesmerizing. I'm not into prints, as you know, and I'm really not into busy, colour-rich prints, but this fabric channels the sea and the sun. It's a portrait of nature but is simultaneously geometric. It's an optimistic, rich print and it's quite unusual.

My goal is to take a photo later today (on the dress form, if it'll fit over the shoulders), if not on me (looking too weekend grungy). I'll upload it later tonight or tomorrow.

Today's questions: What's your most flattering pattern? Which one do you like sewing most? And when you merge those variables, which pattern comes out on top? Let's talk...