Monday, January 30, 2012

My Little Orange Dress

According to most fashionistas for the better part of the last 100 years have said that every woman needs a little black dress.  Now while I do have one, I will say this and that is Orange is the new black...or at least it should be!  I love orange...fabulous color it is.  So bright and cheery and well orange :)  So when I was gifted this lovely orange fabric with little white polka dots I knew I had to make a dress for me.


Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?  The dress...I'm talking about the dress, I haven't become that vain...yet ;)

My favorite part is the neck line...

How cool is that?  I mean it's curvy yet depending on how you sew it up can be a daring plunge or a modest V-neck.  I'm in love with this dress!

What is even cooler is the pattern I used.  Several months ago a friend of mine called me up said she was gifted with a bunch of fabric, books and pattern making kits and wondered if I was interested in taking some of it off her hands.  Was I?  Of course!  So while I was off practicing for a Sunday morning she unloaded boxes by my back door...boxes I tell you.  In one of those boxes was this box that said Lutterloh System International...I opened it up and WOW!  I was hooked.

Basically it is a loose leaf notebook full of drawings of garments you can make a pattern just for you!  No, need to take time to make adjustments already printed patterns...no you draft a pattern just for yourself.  Now the patterns I have are most definitely dated I guesstimate around the late 60's to the early 80's.  Some patterns just make me laugh others I can't wait to make...especially after this dress.  However, as I was looking up the system online for this post I discovered that the system is still in print and you can find out about the Golden Rule and order supplemental quarterlies even today.

The other thing I like about this is that the pattern pieces are interchangeable.  Meaning if I like the sleeves on a shirt but love the style of a dress I can pair them up together without a hitch.  Talk about options!  I have found the easiest way to make the patterns is on the floor in my living room and perhaps I'll show you all one day how this system works.

Now of course every good thing has a down side and that is this system if for the advanced sewist who doesn't need written directions to sew.  Yes there are general directions for how to put in pockets, sew up darts, and other features in your garment but there are no directions for each individual project.  So if you need photos or pictures to figure things out you might not fair well with this program

Well what do you think?  Is orange the new black in terms of sexy?  Or do I just pull of the color really well?  I'm 3 garments into my goal...47 left and I'm seeing belts in my future.

2 comments:

  1. buffy! that's gorgeous! congrats on the dress! xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not a big orange fan--but it's growing on me. I do think I'm starting to like this tangerine shade of orange the best. The tiny polka dots are adorable and I LOVE the neckline! Really, pretty. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

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