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Friday, October 19, 2012

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

This will be my official 52nd Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. I can't believe it. I did it!! Not such a huge accomplishment in the over all scope of life, but I'm, well, if I'm honest, yes, I am a little proud. I've had a vision of this for quite some time and I've finally reached what I had hoped to accomplish. It reminds me of a piece that I posted for Sunday Night Reflections. It's called Celebrate Vision and you can see it here. The last line says, "Imagine what I could do if I had a vision and worked at it a little each day." That simple statement has been rather life changing for me. It's helped me to realize that really anything we want to do can be accomplished if we only break it down into smaller increments of effort rather than trying to accomplish it all at one time.
If you would like to take a look at all of the previous pieces I've done, you can see them here on my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday Pinterest board
You may be wondering if I will continue. For now, the answer is yes. I love stretching my mind to think about simple geometric shapes that will translate to easy pieces be it clothing or accessories. Thank you to all of you who drop by on Friday. Whether you leave a comment or not, I know you've been by and I appreciate it so much.
The first piece I did was my Wear It Every Which Way You Can Top.
You can see that post here. I didn't quite make my original goal of posting a new piece each and every week although I came close. This post was done August 16, 2011, so I had eight off weeks over the last year!! 
Wonderful things have come to me through this endeavour. I "met"(we've yet to meet in person!) Miss Shams and she did a wonderful guest post on her Tablecloth Skirt.
You can learn how to do her skirt here. Or better yet, jump on over to her blog, http://www.communingwithfabric.blogspot.com/
My beautiful friend Brenda has been such a fan.
Brenda works for The American Sewing Expo. Each and everyday of the expo this year, she wore a different Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece.
Another wonderful friend, Nancy, invited me over for lunch one day and was wearing
The Draped Front Ballerina Top when I walked in the door. She has taken that same pattern and used it to teach her niece how to sew. I'm honored.
And yet another friend made the Paper Bag Jacket to wear on her trip to Vietnam. And the stories go on! 

So on we move to number 52,
The Caught In A Wave Dress.  
This little dress is nothing more than 2 half circles sewn together.
There is an opening left in the seam for the neck and shoulder to go through.
 You can see the half circle better in the above picture.
 The half circle sits at an angle on the body.
After the seam was sewn across the top and the edges were finished, a seam was sewn at an angle for the side seam.
The fabric that I used is from Elliott Berman Textiles. This particular piece  is a panel and was made for Norma Kamali. If you are interested, the fabric is still available as of this post. You can find it here. I used 2 panels for my dress. This dress does need to be made from a knit fabric. 
I used the width of the fabric for the width of my dress. The edges were curved.
The straight edge will be a seam with an opening for the neck and shoulder. Measure from your armpit to your desired length. For some of you, the width of the fabric may not allow for a long enough length, so you will need to use the lengthwise grain of your fabric to get your desired length.
Once you have determined the length, measure from your neck edge to your armpit, so across your chest, to determine the opening for your neck and shoulder. The remainder of the fabric will be the shoulder seam for the opposite side of the dress. 
The above picture demonstrates how the piece hangs on the body. You can see that the side seam is at an angle. Once you have sewn in the side seam, you will need to zigzag an opening for a belt. This is basically a very large buttonhole.  
I added a strap for the opposite shoulder as most of us do not like to wear a strapless bra. Cut a small rectangular piece and sew the edge. Try on the dress and place the strap so that it will cover the bra strap.
Very, very simple. I had enough from the edge to make a sash for my tie.
This will make a cute dress or even a great cover up for the beach.

This has been a wonderful journey, one that I am very happy that I have made the effort to take. Once again, a very heart felt thank you to all of you who have come along with me. You have been the force that has kept me going.
Thank you,
Rhonda

30 comments:

  1. I loooove your free pattern series so I'm so glad to see you will continue.. I got a tough choice to choose one to try...

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  2. Congratulations! I love the dress and will think about making it after the Holidays.

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    1. You have been such a wonderful friend. I just wish we lived a little closer to each other. What fun it would be to sew together!

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  3. Love the dress, and am in awe at your creative vision!

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  4. Love this dress!!' So cut and this pattern is so nice!

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  5. It more like thank YOU for all the time you put into your blog, for sharing and inspiring us!!!

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  6. Love this dress, very funny, very easy and very beautiful.

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  7. Hey Rhonda,

    I had a question, the width of the circle (diameter) is decided by what measurement?? and how do I know the correct angle and length of the slanted side seam???

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  8. Wow! Beautiful dress! I can't wait to try this! I'm soooo glad I found your blog! Thanks to Cennetta!

    Noriecreates.wordpress.com

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  9. This looks amazing!! Thanks so much for posting-- I can't wait to make it!

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  10. Very cool & thanks for the pattern as I will soon try!
    DemiseAngela

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  11. Very cool & thanks for the pattern as I will soon try!
    DemiseAngela

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  12. Do you put the neck opening in the center?

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    1. Hi Gabrielle,
      The opening may not be in the middle. For the side that is not over the arm, measure from your armpit to your desired length. This will determine where the opening begins. I have not posted a picture of me wearing this piece, but I will do so tomorrow, June 14, 2013 so you can see how it looks on the body. I'll leave a comment here with a link so you will be sure to see it.

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  13. I am going to a retro birthday party and while too cheap/poor to buy a dress I have a huge thing of extra fabric. I am limited on time so happy to find a beautiful and free pattern! This will be quite easy to make. ( I hope haha) So excited! Thank you so much!!

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  14. Love it as always. Congratulations on such a terrific accomplishment. So happy you are continuing the project

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  15. I sincerely hope you respond to this comment, because I love this dress and really want to make it! But I'm confused about the layout. On the side with the shoulder strap, do you cut the rest of the fabric off that side , creating one long seam the length of the dress? It seems if you didn't do that, there would be a lot of bulk, since there is still quite a bit of fabric beyond where the opening ends. But I only see one side seam, which is placed on the side with the sleeve. Please help me understand the final layout so I can duplicate your wonderful design!! Thank you so much in advance.

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    1. Hi Susan,
      The dress is just 2 half circles sewn together. Leave an opening that the neck and 1 shoulder will go through. So 1 end of the opening will be under the arm and the other end of the opening will be at the neck edge. So there is nothing to cut off. For privacy, see the seam but leave an opening for the tie to go through. There is no need for a seam on the other side as the tie goes around the fabric. Once the piece is together, try it on and decide the placement of the strap, or decide if you would like to have a strap. I hope this helps. Let me know if you still have questions.

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  16. Thank you so much for your reply! I am still a little confused. When looking at the last drawn diagram picture, the one that shows the side seam, I am assuming that the seam is on the opposite side of the dress as the shoulder strap, so the belt can go through the created hole. If that is correct, then the width of the dress is all of the material that is to the right of the side seam, which seems like a lot. I'm assuming the side with the shoulder strap is sleeveless. So all of the material that is beyond the neck & shoulder opening will drape around you so you can tie the belt around it. It just seems like it would be quite bulky. But when I look at the very last picture of the dress, with the one sleeve out to the side, it doesn't appear to be bulky at all. I'm having a hard time understanding how all of that extra fabric will not cause bulk. I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself well enough to make any sense lol. Hopefully you understand what I'm referring to. Anyway, it is a beautiful dress and I really hope to make it!!

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    1. Susan, here's a link to a picture of me in the dress. Let me know if this answers your questions.
      http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/07/fabulous-free-pattern-friday-repeat.html

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  17. I love this pattern. When I have time, I'll make it and wear it. Thank you.

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  18. Thank you so much for posting this! It seems pretty straightforward, but I do have one question: How do we determine the correct angle of the side seam?

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    1. Once you have the piece together, try it on and pin where the side seam works best on you. you really can't go wrong :)

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  19. Gorgeous dress! Would this work as a full-length dress?

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    1. It will! Just remembered that the one side will be shorter. But, for an evening look, a little leg is always a good thing 😊

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  20. Hi. Thank you for a great idea. I just wanted to say that it can be made in woven. I just made one in slightly stretchypoly satin and it turned out a fabulous evening dress. You just have to be more careful about the neck opening.

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    1. So happy to hear that you gave it a try and that it worked with a woven. Send pics if you have a chance, sewbussted@yahoo.com

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