Pyjama Dress

Today I present a Wadder.  I almost don't want to show this dress.  It is a good example of why one should avoid fabrics in the clearance bin of a big box craft retailer, no matter how enticing.  I think it is helpful to show the failures in addition to the wins, in part for my own creative process, and in part because I know I learn from other's mistakes!  Hopefully my flub will help someone else in the future. 

I bought this fabric on clearance at Joann's this summer, intending to use it for a winter dress.  I had had my eye on the fabric for a few months but they never had enough yardage in stock for my needs, and then it went on super clearance and had enough to buy, so I snapped it up.  I let it sit all summer and most of the fall, after I decided I would use it for my winter rotation.

I got around to washing it sometime in late October or early November, and I probably should have given up at that point.  It is a loosely woven cotton flannel, on the thin side, that went severely off grain during washing and I could.not.straighten.it.  Every time I thought I had it on grain, it would go off in another place. 

Cutting this dress was extremely stressful as a result.  The fabric was pretty narrow (41", some of which was lost in the washing, so it was almost like working with a vintage yardage) and I didn't have enough for yoked pockets.  

I did inseam pockets to avoid some hassle.  I'm getting better at applying a zip behind the inseam pocket.  

Sewing this dress was equally stressful.  The plaid was hard to match (except at the waist--I'm pretty proud of my matching there!) and I could tell it was pretty wonky in terms of grain.  With some fabrics you can get away with this, with a rectangular on-grain plaid, not so much. I'd like to say that that opposing diagonals of the bodice and skirt are a design feature, but sadly, they just aren't. 

Perhaps a more experienced seamstress would have done a better job with this fabric; perhaps a more experienced seamstress would have run away from the fabric to start with!  In any case, this dress is a failure.  I tried wearing it on Saturday, hoping it would be a kind of a schlubby Saturday-type dress, but it isn't as warm as I was expecting and it twists a bit and hangs weirdly from being off-grain.  In short: it just feels bad to wear.  I suppose I'll just chalk it up to a good learning experience.  And maybe stay away from plaids for a while.

Oh well.  Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some.