Saltwater Slip Dress
Hi sewing friends,
Has your sewing hobby changed at all? While I haven’t gotten a lot of sewing done this summer since adding another tiny human to our family, I have still been thinking a lot about sewing and hobbies in general. I’ve been thinking about what I want my wardrobe to look like, what fabrics and styles I truly love, what works for my body and lifestyle in this moment of time, I’ve been thinking about how much time I want to spend on this hobby, and even how to I define how sewing fits into my life. Is it my passion, my hobby, my side hustle? I still need time to think these aspects through, but mostly I’m in a place of sewing when I feel like sewing, taking a pause when I need to pause and do mostly whatever is going to bring me the most joy and fun. I’m trying to eliminate as many deadlines within this hobby as I can and to dive into whatever feels right in the moment.
Part of that for me is trying to put a pause on buying fabrics and patterns. When I first started sewing, I only purchased fabric when I had a project I wanted to make. It was all so new to me that I didn’t always know what was the right fabric for a project or what fabrics I really loved in my wardrobe. I didn’t want to spend money on something I wouldn’t use, so I tried my best to match fabrics to specific projects. As I became more familiar with fabrics, I started to buy ones I just loved, hoping I’d find a project for it later. Which is really easy to put on the back burner. I’ve found myself now in a place with some fabrics I love, but I can’t seem to use them unless I find the perfect match. They end up just sitting in the drawer, which I find to be a very sad life for a beautiful fabric. I just don’t think I’m a fabric collector and I’d really like to get through what I have before purchasing anymore.
As far as patterns go, I have this really big goal of creating my own set of slopers. I finished my bodice sloper last year, but I need to make some adjustments to better fit changes in my body and I want to make a skirt and pant sloper too. When I keep buying patterns, I’m spending more time sewing those, then working on my own ideas. I really love drafting patterns and I’d rather spend my time on that, but it’s so hard not to be swayed when you see a pattern already created that you love. It’s a work in progress, but I’m hoping to keep my focus on these goals.
One pattern that I recently impulse purchased was the Saltwater Slip dress. I had been looking for a pattern that only used 1.5 meters to make a dress, because I have 1.5 meters of this amazing dead stock Italian fabric and I haven’t been able to make a decision about what to make with it. I thought this was the perfect solution. Even though this is a simple pattern, I decided to make a toile first since the Italian fabric was so near and dear to my heart. I used this cotton viscose blend. I made a size medium in the c/d cup and graded to a large in the hips. For reference my measurements are bust: 36, waist 28, hips 41 in inches. Even though I was going to make the short version with the Italian fabric I decided to make the long length, since it would give me the same info regarding fit, but be a different style to have in my wardrobe. I didn’t make any other changes to the pattern before cutting it out. I did end up trimming my straps to be 18 inches long after attaching to the neckline since they were too long for me. Personal changes I’d make in the future is to shorten the straps, pinch out about ½ inch in each armpit since I had some gaping, shorten the bodice 1 inch, and maybe lower the dart just a bit to better hit my personal apex.
My whole plan after making this toile was to make the pattern changes, make the short version with my Italian fabric and then do a cute reel wearing each of them. I do love this dress and the pattern. It’s a beginner friendly project, can be styled many ways and goes up to a 60 inch bust and 63 inch hip. At some point, I would like to make the short version and make a fun reel to share with everyone, but am I going to move forward with the Italian fabric? No. And that answer has nothing to do with this pattern. I am a big Friday Pattern Company fan. It’s just that I kept thinking about a pattern idea I had that I wanted to self-draft. And while using this fabric wouldn’t be the end of the world, there is always more fabric, I really want to save it for a different project, because I think that’s where my sewing joy is right now. Maybe that doesn’t help me get through my stash, but I think I have the motivation to keeping working on my slopers so that I can have the joy of cutting into this fabric.
I’m so curious to know how other people approach their sewing hobby. How has it changed? What are your goals? What new things are you trying? Any advice on focusing less on output and more on fitting, style, and joy?