I was so happy to pick a pattern from Indiesew for this spring’s Selfish Sewing Week. I have had my eye on a few new patterns from their site. But then I saw this pattern from Blank Slate Patterns called “the Rose T-shirt” and since I was planning to use this fabric, I knew it was destined to be mine. 
BOOTS: Aldo (similar one here) // FABRIC: Art Gallery Fabrics: Flowered Engrams Delicate // PATTERN: Rose T-Shirt Pattern by Blank Slate Patterns // FLORAL CROWN: DIY creation
My favorite part about this pattern is the short sleeve pattern piece is not a tiny little cap sleeve that you see in most dress patterns, and instead is a little longer. I have large orangutan arms so these sleeves were the perfect fit. I sewed a size medium, dress option, but added an extra 2.5 inches to the length of the dress. I also omitted the woven front yoke and stayed with my same floral knit for all of the pattern pieces. Otherwise I sewed the pattern as is, following all directions and it turned out just as I had hoped.
The Fabric:
If you’ve read my blog before than you will know how much I love sewing with knits and how much I love Art Gallery Fabrics . So I was more than thrilled when Art Gallery sent me this beautiful rose knit from the Recollection line by Katarina Roccella. The print is so unique and from afar has an interesting texture look to it. And it is floral but without being too juvenile. I have had my eye on it for awhile but was afraid that the floral print might be too “loud” for me. But as I began my “spring inspiration” board on Pinterest I was noticing that floral print is EVERYWHERE! Some of my favorite inspirations included:
But my biggest fear in doing a knit floral dress was that it would end up looking more like this:
I think my dress probably resembles the inspiration looks much more than the worst-case scenario looks. Would you agree? If not, please exit this blog post immediately (just kidding!)
In the end I love the dress and it turned out to be a great little dress for a Saturday afternoon stroll through the new Birds of Prey exhibit in Awendaw, out for a lunch date with Will, and then for a walk down on King Street. I love that I took a risk with floral because I never would of thought I would have so much fun wearing it. Let this be a lesson to us all. Don’t let loud prints scare you. You will not look like your grandmother’s sofa and you will not look like third trimester Kim Kardashian. You will look gorgeous. Because that is the thing about fashion. It’s not what you are wearing, but how you feel in what you are wearing that matters. Plus don’t forget to add a smile, because that is what people will notice first.
Disclaimer: The pattern and fabric in this post was provided to me free of charge for participating in Selfish Sewing Week Blog Hop but as always, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
