Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Time to pay the piper

For all the piping on this dress.

Did I ever mention I love piping? I don't even mind installing it anymore, though I used to hate it. My regular zipper foot isn't a big help, but the adjustable zipper foot Kenneth King recommended when I took his Piped Pocket and Buttonholes class on Patternreview does the trick.

This is yet another version of BWOF 2/09 #113, the dress I wrote about recently. This is my fourth version of this dress, and while I could keep going, I think I'll give it a rest for a while and think about other things.

Besides, I'm out of piping. I bought 5 yards of this at Pacific Trims some time last year, with every intention of knocking off a perfectly adorable Tracy Reese dress. That may still happen, but I'll have to restock first.

This may be my favorite version of this dress so far. I went upstairs to Mario's office to get him to zip me all the way up, and he who never really has a comment on what I make said that he really liked this one too. "The lines are good on you." I don't know if he means the lines of the dress, or the lines of the piping, or what - and I decided not to ask. Sometimes getting into in-depth conversations with a non-sewing man who just wants to give a you a compliment defeats the whole purpose.

I'm pretty pleased with this dress. I used up my entire 5 yards of piping, which is kind of annoying because I would have liked to pipe the skirt's side seams and around the armholes, but then again, the armhole piping would have probably just ended up with deodorant on it anyway, which would have been really annoying. I should just shut up and be glad that it all came out evenly, including across the back at the zipper where I had issues last time I did a piped version of this dress.

The fabric has been in stash for a week, which may not be a speed record for me, but it's definitely approaching one. It was $2.99 per yard at Karlin's, the local store who recently kicked up their stock and lured me back in after several years of lackluster thread-and-zipper buying. The owner says it feels very Lily Pulitzer to him. Not so sure about that, but it's bright and summery and - at $2.99 per yard - the whole dress cost me about $5, including zipper.

This is absolutely getting worn to work tomorrow, first of all because it deserves a test drive and secondly because it's the perfect dress to wear with my new shoes I got on Saturday.

22 comments:

Myra said...

Wow, love it. Yes, when the men say something like that, I don't get too technical either. Just confuses them. Does that shop have a website?

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

This is absolutely stunning! I love, love, love it!

Adrienne said...

LOVE IT! Love the piping!

shams said...

Very cute! The piping is a perfect offset for the bold print.

Sewtellme said...

This dress is fantastic!

Connie said...

That looks great! I loved the fabric when I saw it flat, and sewn up, with piping, it looks amazing!

Little Hunting Creek said...

I really like it - and it does kind of looks Lily-esque. It must be the pink and green, Very pretty and I did notice how the piping matched at the back! Nice! I love when I can do that

meli88a said...

Fantastic -- the piping is so fun on this dress.

Lisette M said...

Yet another great version of this pattern! So can we see you with your new killer shoes?

Cennetta said...

Excellent! I love the effect of the piping in this dress. The fabric pops and it super cute.

Nancy K said...

Perfect for the rest of summer. The piping really gives it a nice extra.
One of these days I will tackle piping. It is something I've never done.

Sheila said...

Lovely dress and totally love the piping detail.

Jen said...

Very pretty dress. I love the piping detail.

cidell said...

The colors and print are so fun and cheerful! I really really like this.

Schaz said...

How did you learn to love piping? I have to fuss so to work with it that I mostly avoid using it at all.

Ann Made Studio said...

I "really" love this dress..I love everything about it ~ the fabric, colors,piping,style...beautiful!

Annette said...

This is a great dress - can I stand in the "giving away" line? Love the colors and the piping finishes it beautifully.
Annette

Christiana said...

Oooh,la,la...your dress looks wonderful.

Children occasionally say remarkable or insightful things, men on the other hand...well they try

Christiana
sewamusing.blogspot.com

Deepika said...

Karen, this is my favorite version of the dress too. Those shoes will be perfect with this dress. Post a photo with them on please!

daiyami said...

Beautiful dress, totally inspiring me to go back to my sundress-fits-like-a-sack and make it work.

Kathi Rank said...

Love the dress, the piping really makes is special. Since you are such a fan of piping, you need to buy a piping foot for your sewing machine so that you can make your own....I do and it couldn't be easier. Now I have another reason to cut my scraps into bias strips so that I'm ready to make piping when the spirit moves me.

Kathi said...

Great dress - the piping is awesome!
I have a pair of capri pants from Talbots several years ago made out of that fabric.