The Big Blooms Print Dress: Choosing the Pattern(s)
Where does an idea start? Sometimes it starts with a fabric. You see the polyester satin fabric which I bought for no reason particular project. I simply loved the exuberance of the print. True, it is poly, not my favorite fiber, but the colors charmed me.
Then, I got word of a family wedding coming up for this spring, so I took a look at the fabrics I had on hand. Big Blooms, as I have dubbed it, seemed perfect. It is a happy print that says celebration and springtime. What pattern? I settled on Butterick 6582, with the wide, flared skirt, perfect for dancing at a wedding.
Now, what to wear with it? A wrap of some kind? And then it hit me, use one of the embroidered silk organzas that I had also bought with no project in mind. I have two of them. One is a deep red. The other pale orange with peach embroidery; originally it was all peach, but was too close to my skin color to look anything but weird. So I popped it into the washing machine with some Rit Dye and the fabric became orange while the polyester thread stayed the peach.
I put the 3 fabrics up against each other and it was clear the pale orange was the wrong color. Then I layered the red organza over the print as you see. An intriguing, swirling floral resulted. I was thinking of a sheer over-dress, a look from the 1950s that has fallen out of our style vocabulary, but which offers limitless color combinations. The re-issued Simplicity 8252 shows you one.
And so the idea grew for a dress in the print worn with the overdress for a quieter look for the wedding ceremony. Without the overdress, I will have a brighter dress for the reception and dancing afterward.
Neither of these patterns is still in print, but check the web and you should find plenty of them.
Stay tuned for how it is turning out.
