Northern Lights

I mentioned I bought some flannel to make a dress to round out my winter wardrobe.  

It ended up being single napped, which I was initially unhappy about, but in the end, I'm glad it is.  It keeps the insides from sticking together, and made the construction a bit easier as the wrong side was very easy to tell from the right side.  It is one of those prints that looks different up close than far away--the pine tree design is much more obvious at a distance.

I debated a long time about the buttons, and tried a lot of different configurations.  In the end, I decided they perked the fabric up a lot, so I left them on (for now).  Actually, they barely survived the day; I clipped them off before hanging the dress back in my closet in the evening.

I did end up lengthening the bodice a smidge too long on this one (I cut it using the Zephyr pieces as a guide and forgot that I had already added the length to the Zephyr, so I added a bit more and overdid it).  I think it isn't too bad, though, and the wide sash helps a bit.

My basic issue right now is that nothing feels quite right to me.  I know this a recurring problem for me, so I'm trying to wait it out.  I do like this dress, and still really like the style; I find it very comfortable (and paired with this undershirt, it is warm enough for this unseasonable weather we are having!), but I don't know.  I don't absolutely love it.  It is a functional piece for this season and works well with my winter palette.  I guess that is okay.

The buttons came from my gram's stash, and there were nine.  I hate leaving orphans, so I sewed the extra into the bottom seam of the dress.  As one of the buttons on the front seems loose already, I may end up needing it!

Lots of leaves on the ground still!  Feels more like November than mid-December.

I made the sash a bit wider than usual, and made the length according to the length on my chambray sash, as I really like how that one looks.  I did do an elastic casing on the waist, as usual, but the dress looks better with the sash.  It happened that I had nearly perfect pattern matching at the waist seam, but it was a happy accident--of course.  When I *try* to match things, it never quite lines up.

I promise, the buttons are evenly spaced--the angle of the photo makes them look uneven.  It was a total pain to measure and pin those suckers.

In other sartorial news, I made the happy discovery that washing *and drying* my twill skirts from this fall shrunk them enough to fit well again!  I suppose in any other context, this would be a disaster, but given that I was ready to give them away because they were too big to effectively take in, that is a good thing.  I will be careful not to dry them again until I need another shrink!  Good thing, as I really could use another skirt in the rotation.  I did decide to take the Shetland flannel skirt in, because it is just such a useful skirt and I love it so much, but I'm waiting a bit to take it in, to see where I land in January.  I've taken the zip out and the waistband off in anticipation of the new side seams.  

Northern Lights dress: flannel from fabric.com, bias tape, zip, vintage buttons

Pinecone earrings: willfulmina's etsy store

boots: Macy's