Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

This will be my official 52nd Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. I can't believe it. I did it!! Not such a huge accomplishment in the over all scope of life, but I'm, well, if I'm honest, yes, I am a little proud. I've had a vision of this for quite some time and I've finally reached what I had hoped to accomplish. It reminds me of a piece that I posted for Sunday Night Reflections. It's called Celebrate Vision and you can see it here. The last line says, "Imagine what I could do if I had a vision and worked at it a little each day." That simple statement has been rather life changing for me. It's helped me to realize that really anything we want to do can be accomplished if we only break it down into smaller increments of effort rather than trying to accomplish it all at one time.

If you would like to take a look at all of the previous pieces I've done, you can see them here on my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday Pinterest board. 

You may be wondering if I will continue. For now, the answer is yes. I love stretching my mind to think about simple geometric shapes that will translate to easy pieces be it clothing or accessories. Thank you to all of you who drop by on Friday. Whether you leave a comment or not, I know you've been by and I appreciate it so much.

The first piece I did was my Wear It Every Which Way You Can Top.

You can see that post here. I didn't quite make my original goal of posting a new piece each and every week although I came close. This post was done August 16, 2011, so I had eight off weeks over the last year!! 

Wonderful things have come to me through this endeavour. I "met"(we've yet to meet in person!) Miss Shams and she did a wonderful guest post on her Tablecloth Skirt.

You can learn how to do her skirt here. Or better yet, jump on over to her blog, http://www.communingwithfabric.blogspot.com/

My beautiful friend Brenda has been such a fan.

Brenda works for The American Sewing Expo. Each and everyday of the expo this year, she wore a different Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece.

Another wonderful friend, Nancy, invited me over for lunch one day and was wearing

The Draped Front Ballerina Top when I walked in the door. She has taken that same pattern and used it to teach her niece how to sew. I'm honored.

And yet another friend made the Paper Bag Jacket to wear on her trip to Vietnam. And the stories go on! 

So on we move to number 52,

The Caught In A Wave Dress.  

This little dress is nothing more than 2 half circles sewn together.

There is an opening left in the seam for the neck and shoulder to go through.

 You can see the half circle better in the above picture.

 The half circle sits at an angle on the body.

After the seam was sewn across the top and the edges were finished, a seam was sewn at an angle for the side seam.
The fabric that I used is from Elliott Berman Textiles. This particular piece  is a panel and was made for Norma Kamali. If you are interested, the fabric is still available as of this post. You can find it here. I used 2 panels for my dress. This dress does need to be made from a knit fabric. 

I used the width of the fabric for the width of my dress. The edges were curved.

The straight edge will be a seam with an opening for the neck and shoulder. Measure from your armpit to your desired length. For some of you, the width of the fabric may not allow for a long enough length, so you will need to use the lengthwise grain of your fabric to get your desired length.

Once you have determined the length, measure from your neck edge to your armpit, so across your chest, to determine the opening for your neck and shoulder. The remainder of the fabric will be the shoulder seam for the opposite side of the dress. 

The above picture demonstrates how the piece hangs on the body. You can see that the side seam is at an angle. Once you have sewn in the side seam, you will need to zigzag an opening for a belt. This is basically a very large buttonhole.  

I added a strap for the opposite shoulder as most of us do not like to wear a strapless bra. Cut a small rectangular piece and sew the edge. Try on the dress and place the strap so that it will cover the bra strap.

Very, very simple. I had enough from the edge to make a sash for my tie.
This will make a cute dress or even a great cover up for the beach.

This has been a wonderful journey, one that I am very happy that I have made the effort to take. Once again, a very heart felt thank you to all of you who have come along with me. You have been the force that has kept me going.
Thank you,
Rhonda