A Challenge Worth Pursuing

Well, once again, missing in action. I could easily say that I have been too busy, but the truth of the matter is that I can always find time. Yes, I'm still working on my friend's estate, which takes up a lot of my time. Thankfully, the biggest jobs will soon be over. I sold her house(SO HAPPY!!!), but now there's the issue of the furniture, and clearing it out for the new owner. I have just a little over a month to make it all happen. I'm determined ;)

I love setting goals for myself. But, like most, some get accomplished, and then others languish. Last year, I set a goal to read the Bible from cover to cover. No studying, just read it as a book. It was something I have always wanted to do. I found a guide online that I could print out. It prompted me with how many chapters I should read each day, and I could mark off my progress. It was great for keeping me on track. While I learned a lot, and discovered things I had never known, the greatest gift was the accomplished dream. I did it!!! And what I have found a little strange is that it gave me a tremendous sense of confidence in what I am capable of doing. A little secret to the success was having that daily reminder. Since I write each and every morning, I kept my goal sheet in my notebook. So, when I opened my notebook to write, there was my sheet reminding me that I had chapters to read. 

I had another goal last year that did not get accomplished. It may seem quite silly, but I wanted to do a year...a complete year of a me made wardrobe. I broke my arm, and I just seemed to lose steam in regards to that goal. When this year rolled around, I thought of it once again, but just didn't move forward. Then, participating in Me Made May this year reignited the desire to make this goal happen. But, I think that I allowed all that is going on to stifle me. I'm so very fortunate to have a friend that I talk to every week. We use our time to encourage each other. Since we begin the year by sharing our goals, it's easy to help each other stay on track. But, this goal I had not shared, and yet it somehow came up in our conversation. She strongly encouraged me to go for it. Her words played on my mind until I finally gave in!

I decided to give myself a running start, by beginning June 22. My friend had encouraged me to begin July 1st. So...here goes!!!  

Anytime that I want to feel a little floaty and free, these are my go to pants. My own design.

Another piece that just floats about the body is this super simple little skirt. It's just a rectangle that has an elastic waist. The outer skirt is gathered and twisted into the underskirt. I think this one needs a tutorial as it's so easy to do, and yet looks special. I actually took Berkley for a hike in this skirt!!!

On June 24th, we met friends at a wonderful Irish bistro here in Chicago, Chief O'Neil's. They have an amazing outdoor garden. It was the first time I've been to a restaurant to eat since March 14th. I was beside myself with excitement! Like, ball gown excited ;) But, I opted for this self-drafted dress.

The following day, I had a number of errands to run, so I slipped on the ruffle skirt, and shimmied through my day. You can find the tutorial on the skirt HERE.   

I made these pants a few years ago. For some reason I had left them in my laundry room. Decided to give them a go, and I am so happy that I did. The pattern is from Colette Patterns, the Clover Pants. I lengthened mine, and added a cuff. I paired the pants with a basic purchased tee.  

The top I'm wearing was made with scraps. I had the ruffled fabric and the matching knit left over, and felt that it was enough to possibly make a top. It worked! The pants are the Barb Pants from Style Arc Patterns. 

The next day, I was out at the airport. I wore another pair of Barb Pants, and a stylized tee. This is another piece that I should do a tutorial on. It has an inset of chiffon down the back making it another fun, floaty piece :)

  

The following day was June 29th, and I had to be up and out quite early, so I pulled on a pair of linen pants with a gathered leg and a Helen's Closet Elliot Tee.  

It was a hot, sweaty kind of  a day, so once I got home, I jumped in the shower, and changed my clothes. I made this fruit dress quite a few years ago, but just keep pulling it out every summer. It's cotton, so it washes well. By the way, I never put it in the dryer, and I think that is what has saved the fabric. A sheath dress is so perfect for summer. This one reminds me a little of a Lilly Pulitzer piece.

June 30th, the last day of my gearing up. It was hot, so I pulled on my Closet Case Patterns Amy Jumpsuit. The fabric was a gift from Becky of Trial Balloons. If you have not checked out her blog, by all means, do!!! She will truly inspire you.  

I kicked of July with a pair of Ginger Jeans from Closet Case Files. I will never buy another pair of jeans. I LOVE this pattern. The tee I'm wearing is from iCandy Handmade, the summer tee. I modified it a bit, but just at the hem. It's a free pattern by the way :)    

My second day of July was spent in a pair of border print pants and another self-drafted top. I started doing videos as I think it's nice to see how the clothes move. The top is yet another piece that deserves a tutorial. It's easy to make, and easy to wear. A winning combination in my book.

The following day was spent in a pair of Helen's Closet Winslow Culottes. Such a fun pattern. I love that you have the ease of a pant and the look of skirt. The top is another self-drafted piece.

On July 4th, I went kayaking for the first time this summer. It felt so very good to be in the water. After I came back home, I just wanted to be in something nice, but easy. This sarong style skirt fit the bill!

I miss Sunday's being Sunday. I miss going to church. It would be easy to just wear my pajamas all day, but I like to get dressed just as if I am going out. I did not wear those pumps all day! But, just like Sundays, I miss wearing my heels. It was fun to have them on for a while. The dress is the Magic Bias Dress from Fashion in Harmony. I love this dress!!! 

On Monday, I was back out at the airport. I wanted to wear this pair of cargo pants that I made last summer. I usually wear the long sleeve Molly Tee from Pattern Union with the pants, but I knew I would burn up. Thankfully, I had enough scraps to make a short sleeve version. You can see the post I did on the pants HERE.

I did a video of the dress I wore yesterday, and I'm having a problem with downloading it, so it will come in my next post. So far, so good! I'm a full week into my 1 year challenge. 

As we all are too aware of, things can happen that truly throw us off track. But, this is something I really want to accomplish. It feels a bit like a journey, a journey that is going to teach me so much. 

I am using Instagram as my daily reminder of my goal, as I post my outfit there, and keep myself on track. But, if you are not on Instagram, my plan is to do a weekly round up here on the blog. And who knows, maybe I'll inspire a few of you as well :)
Rhonda 

House Keeping And A New Project

Happy Wednesday!

I took a little time this morning to update the Sew News Sew Along links. If you look at the banner under Rhonda's Creative Life, you'll see a number of clickable links with one being a link to the Sew News sew alongs that I have done. I still need to go back and add the sew alongs that were done in 2014, but I do have 2016 up to date. So far this year, we have done;

The Pepernoot Coat from Waffle Patterns

The Magic Bias Dress from Fashion In Harmony

The Soma Swimsuit from Papercut Patterns 

The Stella Weekender Bag from Swoon Patterns

Up next is the fabulous Ginger Jeans pattern from Closet Case Files. I am super pumped about this sew along as I cannot wait to make another pair. I could live in these jeans!!! 

So if at anytime you would like to refer to any of the sew along posts, I think you'll find it quite easy to find them. As soon as I link up all the 2014 sew alongs, I'll let you know.

At the moment I am working on my niece's wedding gown. Can't wait to share the dress with you. I've decided to wait until after her wedding to post pictures. The wedding will be October 22nd, so just a few weeks away.

I recently shared a lovely gift that I was given from Kim of The Material Lady, a gorgeous piece of Linton Tweed.

With such a special gift, I really wanted to be sure that whatever I chose to do would be equally as special, so I ordered the Cassock Coat pattern from Paco Peralta. I may not have enough to make the longer version, but I'll be just as happy with something shorter.

My pattern arrived yesterday and Paco included such a sweet gift, a sketch book from The Museu del Disseny. I am going to enjoy having this in my bag. Thank you Paco :)

With such a special project, I want a special lining. I popped over to the Apple Annie website and found this lovely piece of silk charmeuse. Kind of a wild lining, but it should be fun :) 

I'm planning to quilt the fabric just as I would for a Chanel style jacket, so it will be a bit labor intensive, but well worth it.

So that's my little dog and pony show for the day.

Before I go, I would just like to say thank you to all of you who have sent messages and cards after the loss of my precious Little Bit. Each day is better. I miss her terribly. The house is so quiet and so empty. Gracie too is mourning. It's like we are all struggling to find a new normal. We will. Little Bit was a little 14 pound dog that had the spirit and presence of a giant. I am so very grateful that I was given the opportunity to share life with her while she was here on earth.

The Wednesday Showcase/Tany and The Magic Bias Dress

There's little I love more than showcasing the work of others. I can't remember when exactly, but I showcased the wonderful blogs, Couture et Tricot and Tany et La Mode a few years back. Since then I have loved seeing the incredible garments that Tany makes and I especially love her shoes!!!! I joke with her all the time that if I ever come to Portugal, she will need to lock up her shoe closet as that's the first place I'm heading ;) She has such a lovely sense of style and mixes her beautifully made garments with purchased pieces in such a manner that I think, makes all who visit her blog aspire to dressing even better.

Tany won the Magic Bias Dress pattern giveaway that I and Fashion In Harmony hosted just before the launch of the sew along. Tany did not allow any grass to grow under her feet in getting the dress made! She did such a beautiful job, so I asked her to do a guest post as I thought you would enjoy her journey of working through the pattern. 

Be sure to check out the video at the end of the post. Although the dress is on a dressform, it gives you an idea of how the dress moves on the body. 
Hope you enjoy the post, and a special thanks to Tany for sharing her thoughts on the pattern.

Hi to all sewing enthusiasts out there! I was invited by Rhonda to write a guest post about my experience making the Magic Bias Dress from Fashion in Harmony and I happily said yes. I’m quite honored to be addressing Rhonda’s readers and I love her blog!

I first found out about this pattern through the giveaway hosted by Rhonda and the Sew News Magazine Sew-along. I am an avid sewer and I’m always on the lookout for new things to experiment with sewing-wise. When I saw the pattern I was fascinated by the fact that most of the seams are stitched on the straight of grain, in spite of the dress being cut on the bias. I was also quite fond of the one piece bias-cut tulip sleeves, as I think they are incredibly flattering and add to the femininity of the dress. 

I was hooked and ready to order the pattern, so imagine how thrilled I was on finding out that I had won the giveaway. When I got the pattern from Rhonda I started looking for suitable fabric right away and I found this 100% rayon (viscose) floral print at my local fabric store. It has a wonderful soft touch and drape. The flower print isn’t the obvious fabric choice for this dress because all the seaming detail would be lost in the print but I went with it anyway and I must say I’m glad I did because quite happy with the final result.

Regarding my impressions of the pattern, I only have good things to say; everything lined up perfectly and the instructions were very clear regarding the sewing procedures and the order of construction; the seams are numbered so there’s little room for mistakes. The success of the dress depends of course on the preparatory steps: cutting the fabric well laid out and perfectly straight with pattern grain lines parallel to the selvedges and avoiding distortion near the selvedges (either by placing the pattern pieces a fair distance from the selvedges and/or clipping the selvedges every 2-3 inches). Also be aware that the pattern is huge and the fabric is cut on a single layer layout (right side of fabric facing up) so it helps to have a large cutting table or enough space on the floor. After all the pattern pieces are cut and marked where needed, it’s good to keep in mind that the pattern includes 3/8” seam alwances on all seams, except the shoulders where the seam allowances are 1”. The fact that the main seams (those joining the narrow inset and the front yoke to the main dress piece) are cut on the straight of grain really made my job a lot easier because I didn’t have to worry about the fabric becoming distorted along these seams. I pressed both seams away from the inset and towards the front yoke because I decided to topstitch all seams with contrasting thread to highlight them and I thought it would look more balanced this way.

The remaining seams (neck and armholes) should be stabilized and the instructions offer a few possible ways to do this. I stay-stitched at 1/4” from the cut edge and also fused bias stay-tape to the neck and armholes; I also want to point out that the instructions include precise measurements for each section of bias tape needed, on each pattern size. For the shoulder seams I used strips of lining selvedge cut to the width of the front shoulders (measured on the paper pattern) and basted them to the back shoulder stitching line, easing the fabric slightly.

I really loved the neckline binding method in the instructions, called the French Bias Facing; again precise measurements for the bias-cut strip are provided. Same as Rhonda, I also think that a 1 1/2" wide strip may not be enough for this neckline binding treatment; a 2” wide strip is just perfect for the job.

When the body of the dress was complete, I was able to try the dress on and assess the fit, which was perfect for me. I am a size 14 and I cut size 12-14. But, I think there’s little chance of the dress not fitting, because the bias cut fabric will accommodate to your body shape. I also ended up with a slightly uneven hem but that was to be expected.

The one-piece bias tulip sleeves are my favorite detail on this dress; they hang beautifully and are so flattering in my opinion. I had no trouble at all attaching the sleeves to the previously stabilized armholes. I didn’t do this for this dress, but if you want to add a couture element to the sleeves, just add a silk organza sleeve-head: cut a 4” wide bias strip of silk organza, long enough to accommodate the sleeve cap from ease point to ease point, fold it length-wise  and baste to the sleeve cap on the wrong side (raw edges together) before stitching the two rows of ease stitches. You’ll find the sleeve will ease in much more evenly, and the folded organza adds a nice light support to the sleeve cap after it has been attached to the armhole.

The last step was hemming the dress evenly after letting it hang on the dressform for 48hrs. I trimmed out just the minimum to make it even and the length of the dress was just perfect for me (I am 5’7, by the way).

I LOVED sewing this dress and loved it even more when I tried it on. I made no alterations at all but fitting instructions are provided in the pattern instructions in case a large or small bust adjustment is needed (and these adjustments are surprisingly easy to make too!). I can’t wait to try this pattern with some other fabrics/prints (Rhonda’s versions are quite inspiring, do check them out if you haven’t already!), being aware that the fit/hang will change slightly according to the fabric’s characteristics. Color blocking is also an option and I already have a few ideas for upcoming versions of this dress.

All in all I rate this pattern a 10 out of 10, which also rates the very thorough instructions, diagrams and variations provided. I had a blast making this dress and I strongly recommend the pattern.

Thank you all for reading and Rhonda for hosting this article, Happy Sewing to all!

The Winner Of The Bias Cut Blueprints Book From Fashion In Harmony

My sincere apology for not getting this posted yesterday as I had promised. I had the last procedure done on my back yesterday morning and it threw me for more of a loop than I thought it would. After sleeping most of the afternoon and over 9 hours last night, I am back to myself and feeling no pain today, so I am a very happy girl!

So without further delay.....

The winner of the Bias Cut Blueprints book from Fashion In Harmony is...

Zippi Kit!!!!!

Congratulations! 

Please email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing address. I will need to hear form you by Saturday, May 21, 2016. If I do not hear from you, I will draw a new name.  

Thanks again to all of you who made the sew along so successful. And a big thank you to Julianne Bramson for a great pattern and for hosting the book giveaway.

If by chance you are making a Magic Bias Dress, I would love to see your creation. The link-up has been extended to June 1, 2016. I would love to see what you've made and I would also enjoy showing off your creation in a follow up post, so stop by THIS post and show us your magic!

If by chance you missed the sew along posts on the Sew News blog, you can find them HERE.

Happy Sewing!

Bias Cut Blueprints Giveaway/The Perfect Way To End a Sew Along!

This is a first!!! A giveaway at the end of a sew along!

Julianne Bramson, the designer of The Magic Bias Dress and Fashion In Harmony Patterns, would like to say a special thank you for making the Magic Bias Dress sew along such a success, so she is giving away one of her books, Bias Cut Blueprints. 

The book is a fabulous workbook for anyone who enjoys bias cut patterns and would like to take a stab at drafting a few of their own.

The book begins with an explanation of the bias garment, how to take measurements, how to calculate yardage, and many other very useful bits of information.

From there you are taken into the project section. Constructing bias tubes is discussed and very clear layouts are given so there is no guess work. 

The projects begin with very simple shapes.

Once you have mastered the simple projects, you can advance into the more complicated.

There is even a section devoted to combining techniques and designs.

 

You will also find templates for necklines and armholes, so as I said, there is no guess work with this book. Every aspect of creating a beautiful bias garment has been thought of.

Due to postage costs, this giveaway is only available to U.S. residents. So sorry, but there will be other giveaways in the very near future that will be open to all.

So if you would like a chance to win the book;

1. Leave a message on this blog.
2. You must be a follower of this blog.
3. You must have a U.S. mailing address.

I will announce the winner next Tuesday, May 17, 2016.

Good Luck!!!
Rhonda  

The Magic Bias Dress From Fashion In Harmony/Construction Tips

Just a quick note to let you all know that the new post is up for the Magic Bias Dress on the Sew News blog, and you can find it HERE. In the header it says that this week is about color blocking. We actually talked about color blocking in last week's post. This weeks' post is about assembling the body of the dress. And, I give you a few of my tips for working with bias. Hope it helps.

I have now made 3 dresses, so I thought that I would do a blouse. I've shared before that I can have the attention span of a gnat, so I'm always thinking of something new to try. I decided to try something a little different and see how it turned out.
As you can see below, I folded up the extended end of the pattern and basically squared off the bottom of the pattern.

What I ended up with is some what of a tunic. The back is of course quite short where the "v" comes up, but I have another idea that I think will add a little interest and make this a super cute top to wear with tights. So stayed tuned. 

I had hoped to get a few pictures of me in this skirt today, but my day is getting away from me. I'm planning a little fashion show Friday post, so I'll get a picture of me in the skirt then.

The skirt is the Chinese Lantern Skirt also from Fashion In Harmony. After making the Magic Bias Dress, I was really intrigued with the skirt, and I was not disappointed. It is SO easy to make and it is such a cute skirt. I slipped it on the first time and I now want more! This is a a skirt that you could literally live in all summer. I didn't have the right drawstring, so what you see will not stay. I just had to stick something in so I could get the true effect of the skirt. The skirt is basically 2 circles, but there's a little trick that makes it drape the way it does.

The hem is simply finished with a piece of bias tape. The fabric is a very light weight double faced gauze. When I walk in the skirt, you get just the slightest glimpse of the orange. 

The back of the skirt. Take note of the hem. The asymmetrical aspect of the hem is what cases the skirt to drape so beautifully. 

You can find the skirt HERE on the Fashion In Harmony website.

For those of you who are making the Magic Bias Dress, I hope you are having fun with your creations. If you do make the dress, remember, I have a link up running on THIS POST, so be sure to post your pictures as I would love to see what you've done!

Happy Sewing!

Rhonda

The Fashion In Harmony Magic Bias Dress/Color Blocking

As I started to prepare for the Fashion In Harmony Magic Bias Dress sew along, I just couldn't make up my mind about what fabric I wanted to use. I have changed my mind more times than a girl should have a right to!
Sew News wanted me to do a post on color blocking for this week's post and you can find it HERE. What I discovered is that you can make this pattern a multitude of ways and basically never have the same dress twice. Once again, a magic dress!!
The first piece that I did as a color blocked version is the tie-dye version below. This piece of fabric is a border print. I placed the main pattern piece for the dress along the edge of the selvedge so that the bright orange would be the most prevalent and sweep around the dress. 

The long triangular piece was placed where the orange bleeds into the yellow.

Please forgive me, I have yet to press the seams. But below you can see how the orange bleeds into the lower portion of the triangular piece and matches up with the dress. In the front, the light orange under the front yoke looks like a separate piece and gives the illusion of color blocking.

As I said, there are so many possibilities for customizing this dress. If by chance you have a couple of fabrics that are of the same weight and drape, but not long enough for the pattern, you can sew them together as you see below. This could make for some very interesting combinations.

After I sent the post in to Sew News, I realized that I left something out. PLEASE be sure to get a straight edge prior to sewing fabrics together. 

To do this simply snip the edge of your fabric and then rip it across. Be careful though. Some fabrics will run, so test the edge first to be sure that the fabric can be safely ripped.

In case you missed it, you can find this week's post HERE on the Sew News blog. 

If you are working on the Magic Bias Dress and have some pictures that you would like to share, I have created a link up on this post. I just ask that you limit this to Magic Bias Dress pictures only. If you have a picture that you would like to share, but can't figure out how to link  it up, you are always welcome to send your pictures to me directly at sewbussted@yahoo.com 

Hope you are having fun with your dresses!

Rhonda                      

An InLinkz Link-up

The Magic Bias Dress Sew Along Begins!

Just wanted to do a quick check in this morning and let you all know that the sew along for the Fashion In Harmony Magic Bias Dress has begun. We decided to postpone it by a couple of weeks since we did an extra post on the pockets for the Pepernoot coat, and to give me just a bit of breathing room between the 2 sew alongs. Whew!!!

So, the first post is up and you can find it HERE on the Sew News blog.  

I always enjoy adding a little something extra to the sew alongs. For the Magic Bias Dress, I thought I would play around with some pattern blocking, as well as a little color blocking. For the pattern blocking, I've decided to use the coordinating prints that you see below. I purchased them quite some time ago from Britex in San Francisco. Love that store by the way :) Beautiful fabrics. Thank goodness I don't live in San Francisco!!! As you can see, depending on how the prints are assembled, they take on a very different look. I think I'm going to have fun playing around with them. For the color blocking, you'll have to wait until next week to see what I've chosen ;)

If you've stayed with me to this point, I have a nice little surprise for you. Sew News has a 20% off sale going on. The sale is store wide, so if you have not purchased your own Magic Bias Dress pattern, now's your chance to save a little. The Promo Code is 20SERGER Be sure to hurry though as the sale only runs through tomorrow, April 20th! You can find the Magic Bias Dress pattern HERE. The pattern is on back order so it won't ship until May 5, 2016, but at least you can take advantage of the sale. 

The Winner of the Magic Bias Dress Pattern

Good Morning All!
It's a typical early spring day in Chicago, dark and rainy. To be honest, I'm very happy as we had so little snow this winter. We really need the moisture in order for the spring flowers to have any vibrancy. At the moment, I have a bed full of spring crocuses that are blooming. Their tiny little blooms are so lovely. They are like an announcement of what's to come :)  
But, enough about gardening and weather!
So many threw their names in for the drawing of the Magic Bias Dress. I think this has been the most popular of all the sew along giveaways. Everyone who left a message seemed so excited. I just wish I had a pattern for each and every one of you, but sadly, there's only one :(
So...The winner of the Magic Bias Dress pattern is....

Congratulations Tany!!!! 

Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com so I can get your pattern out to you.

For those of you who didn't win, you can find the pattern HERE, and you are always welcome to order directly from the Fashion In Harmony website HERE. 

Fashion in Harmony has published a wonderful book entitled Bias Cut Blueprints. Click HERE for a preview. It's a fabulous book, actually a workbook. You'll be amazed by what you can do with a tube.

Wishing you all a wonderful day!
Rhonda

Meet Julianne Bramson, Master Mind of the Magic Bias Dress Pattern

In 2009 I was asked to help judge the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals/Threads Challenge. The challenge that year was all about seams. Judging was blind, meaning that the names of the contestants were removed from the final garments, only numbers were attached. For the judging, we were supposed to have a dressform, but none was available, so guess what!!!, I became the dressform! It was such a great experience and I loved seeing the creativity and ingenuity of the garments. The garment that stood out to me was a bias cut garment with mesh inserts. I was amazed by how beautifully the garment fell over my body and the precise execution of the seams, and especially the mesh inserts. There were a number of garments that made it to the final cut, but I fought hard for the bias dress. The mesh inserts and the precise execution, I felt, deserved the Best Overall distinction. A picture of the dress is included below. 

I was not able to stay for the evening fashion show, so I had no idea who the bias dress belonged to. It wasn't until a few years later when I attended a workshop in San Francisco hosted by Sandra Ericson that I met Julianne Bramson of Fashion In Harmony. I still had no idea that she created the bias dress. At some point during the workshop, something was said about bias garments and Sandra brought up Julianne's dress. It was then that I was able to put a face to this beautiful design. What a pleasure it was to finally meet her.

I was all the more excited when Sew News accepted my recommendation to include the Magic Bias Dress in this year's line up of sew along patterns. I think you too are going to enjoy the simplicity and elegance of this dress.

I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to introduce you to Julianne and let you take a peek into how her mind works.

From Julianne,

My primary source of inspiration for all of my designs is the pioneering work of Madeleine Vionnet.  Her designs, most especially those that utilize geometric shapes placed on the bias, have been a constant source of inspiration for me since I was first introduced to them by Sandra Ericson at the 2006 Association of Sewing and Design Professionals conference in San Francisco, CA. Below is the garment that started my obsession with bias cut garments.

Ironically, I studied Vionnet in college and even based my senior project on a Vionnet inspired design, but it was the math, the geometry that drew me into Sandra's class.   

The 2009 Association of Sewing and Design Professionals Threads Challenge was all about seams. I wanted to make a dress that would have mesh seams so it would look as if it was held together by air, by nothing.  I wanted seams that were sturdy, but in no way hindered the amazing drape of the velvet fabric.  I knew that making the dress on the bias would put the seams in interesting places.  My first dress was of a cream print silk charmeuse with ivory mesh for the seams.  I had planned to use nude mesh, but thought it looked a bit too "lingerie" for my taste.  The ivory was better, but the way I attached the mesh did not result in the professional look that I desired.  And, the whole dress ended up looking more boudoir and less evening. By the time I decided it was a dud, and I needed a new approach, I was running out of time.  That is why the velvet dress is constructed of several different fabrics, I simply did not have time to purchase more fabric.  As a result, I think it is much more interesting.  I love how it looks with the bright orange slip. Necessity truly is the mother of invention!

Below is the dress, featured in thread's Magazine.

The seaming in detail. 

As to the design of the velvet dress, it is all geometry.  I was inspired by two different patterns I found in my obsessive hunt for all things bias-cut and geometric.  One is a page from a vintage magazine about making a bias-cut slip using squares and quarter circles.

I used that for the inspiration for the squares at the waist and also for the skirt, although I instead used half-circles.  The upper portion of the dress was inspired by a pinwheel top pattern I found in a weaving magazine. 

I omitted the triangles at the wrist and turned the triangles at the waist into full squares to create seams to attach the skirt pieces.  It is an amazingly simple design.  What I love about it is how it fits so many different shapes and sizes of people. Bias cut garments truly are amazing and magical!

Thank you so much Julianne for sharing your design process with us.

Remember, I will be giving away a Magic Bias Dress pattern tomorrow, March 31, 2016. You have until tonight at midnight to get your name in for the drawing, so don't delay! If you would like a chance to win the pattern, leave a message HERE.

One last treat, if you are making the Magic Bias Dress, but would rather a different sleeve, you can find a free downloadable pattern for a Flitter Sleeve on the Fashion In Harmony website. Just click HERE.  

Enjoy!

Rhonda