A Tale of Two Georgies

When we released our Georgie Top Pattern in April, I sewed up this striped version during the pattern testing phase. It's become an ace little wardrobe workhorse that gets worn, a LOT, on its own or with cardigans and jackets. The fabric is 'Rembrandt Day', a fine woven viscose/nylon blend that's available in Melbourne only. Mine's more black stripe on beige (pictured below, bottom left) but it's also available in white stripe on black ('Rembrandt Night') as pictured below, top right.

After I made it, I got to thinking about how I could modify the top to create a dress, went off happily into La La Pinterest land and eventually came across this dress. Fashion-wise, there are two things that I am very much digging at the moment. One is the longer skirt/dress length. Full or straight, don't care. Just leave it below the knee and there's a good chance I'll love it.

My other current fashion crush (which really has no bearing on this blog post other than the fact that I'm wearing one) is the white shirt. I've always had, always will, a deep and abiding affection for la chemise blanche but right now, I am loving it as a layering piece and will never ever say no to a good-looking, extra layer in a winter outfit. Case in point? Here and here.

Anyhoo, back to the dress. The fabric I chose is our 100% linen Copper Lined Water (sold out online but still available in Melbourne and Chatswood). I cropped my Georgie bodice a lot higher than my inspo pic because, in the period between looking at the image and cutting out the modified pattern, I kinda forgot to refer back to the photo (mistake #1).  What I should've done was crop it at true waist rather than just under my bust line (mistake #2). I also didn't think I'd really need the waist darts (mistake #3). After I actually went back and looked at the picture, I wasn't so bothered by my fairly substantial miscalculations because I still thought the idea would work (mistake #4, although bonus points to me for being so glass half full!).

The end result, as it turned out, was a whole lot more cylindrical and shapeless than the Pinterest-assisted idea that I'd created in the magical space that occupies all the amazing things I sew IN MY HEAD. I do love a non-fitted garment but in this one, on me, I found zero redeeming features. And believe me, I tried. I present further photographic evidence here...

On the flip side (and because every sewing cloud should have a silver lining) I did learn to make a skirt with a single piece of fabric. I really didn't want to interfere with the vertical stripes so Vikki showed me how to achieve this with a single centre back seam, and with some calculation/trial /error/easing, it worked perfectly. Kind of a shame I ended up having to take the skirt off after all that work but, hey, the peaks and troughs of sewing, right?

Because I'd cropped the bodice so high, there was no other option but to put a ruffle on it. So I did. I graded the hem to sit about an inch lower at the back, and I'm happy to report that this resurrected Georgie now gets a bloody good wardrobe workout just like my first one.

The (happy sewing) End.