This was one of those makes that kind of surprised me. Mostly because it’s red, and I’m not a red person. The fact that a red dress has become a summer wardrobe staple is highly unusual given my penchant for grey, grey and more grey. And secondly because this dress is an imperfect draft, and yet, I still wear it all the time.
I made it as a first test of the maxi dress version of the Rie dress a few years ago, so it’s a little different than the final pattern. I used this bright red jersey for testing since I had it in my stash, and as sometimes happens, I found myself reaching for it on days when I don’t know what to wear.
I made this dress in a size XS which is my fit model Ashleigh’s size – so you can tell it’s a bit too tight on me around the chest. It’s also a bit too short for me, which was a maxi dress length estimation error hehe. Given I am 5’5″ and Ash is 5’9″, you can imagine how way way too short it was on her when we tried it. Obviously we had a good laugh at the time, and then I amended the draft. This is a good example of why a model fitting for patterns is so crucial. Sometimes what you think would be the right thing, ends up quite different from what actually works. The final pattern obviously includes the correct amended hem length – but somehow this too short length is actually kinda working for me. I even ended up liking the red so much that I made the final maxi dress sample in the same fabric!
So like i said earlier – this dress surprised me. Despite the wrong colour, the wrong length and the wrong fit – it’s in my constant rotation, solving my what-will-i-wear-today dilemmas. Definitely not what i’d expected!
I guess there’s more to sewing than getting it absolutely perfectly right all the time. Maybe you can still enjoy a make even when it’s flawed and a little bit wrong.
