I’m a very taken with Japanese patterns at the moment.  Am I a little behind the times?  I’ve just made Dress A (on left) from Yoshiko Tsukiori’s “Style Dress Book” for my sister-in-law.  The same sister-in-law who loves her Woven Scout Tee.

My sister-in-law was surprised and very pleased when I turned up this morning for an arranged ‘pool date’ at her Mum’s house with a new dress for her as my pool entry fee.

The fabric cost a grand sum of $6 for a two metre cotton remnant from Rathdowne Fabrics and Remnants.  I cut out and sewed up the size 10 without alternation.  My personal opinion is that dress is a little big, but my sister-in-law prefers it this way.  It was a perfect dress for our 37 degree Melbourne day.

As per my 2013 planning, I’m going to make two of these dresses for me.  After trying on this version, I’ll will only need to make two modifications:

1. The dress needs shortening (no surprises there!)
2. The bust darts need lowering by an inch.  I’m not sure how to lower bust darts.  Is it as simple as slash and move?  I’ll consult my sewing texts and the internet when the girls are in bed tonight.  Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first item for 2013 and I found myself being quite reflective .  I realised two things:

1. My accuracy has improve immensely in the last 6-12 months.  I can sew a straight line to a bust dart point without thought.  The old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is true!
2. I’m a really inefficient sewer!  For example, on this dress I pinned both side seams, sew one side, ironed the sewn seam, sewed the other side and then ironed that.  Why didn’t I sew both seams and then iron them both?  It would be a lot less movement between my sewing table and ironing board.  I’m not sure of the answer, but I do know that I’m okay with this inefficiency.  For a ‘details person’ who leans towards perfectionism, this realisation, the ease in which I decided to let things be, highlights to me that sewing enriches many parts of my life.