"No, You Can't Hurry Love…" The Cinema Dress, a New Favorite!

Some garments just take time.  They aren't meant to be completed in a single sitting. You can tell when you see the pattern, there's more to it than a few quick seams.  But sewing on a more complex garment brings a different kind of joy...not the quick "I want to wear it tonight" kind of joy, but the "Can't believe I accomplished this" kind of joy.

I love this Cinema Dress so much! Made out of an amazing Rayon by April Rhodes

Not that we're ever going to make something like Laurel's epic French jacket, which took her over 70 hours (you can read about it on her blog, Laurel's Quill), but using all your sewing skills in a single garment can bring a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, so take your time and enjoy the process. Remember, it's about the journey.

The Cinema Dress by another Indie favorite, Liesl & Co., cannot be rushed.  It's not that it requires any particularly difficult techniques - it just has a lot of steps, and doing each one correctly will get you the prettiest little dress.

We've made this before in a lovely cotton double gauze. It's such a comfortable dress that we decided to make another, this time out of a soft rayon. Come see how Rayon is making a huge come back —so many beautiful prints are available!

And because the rayon fabric is so soft and flowing, it takes a little extra time and patience in handling. It also requires the extra steps that a heavier fabric wouldn't, such as extra interfacing. These little squares are added to relieve the stress that pockets can have.

Rayon ravels, so extra time is needed to finish off each seam.

Even though the pattern didn't call for it, we interfaced the small V in the front bodice, so it would not roll...

The pattern recommends adding the button holes before you sew the entire dress together.  Usually it's the last thing you do on a dress, but we liked doing it earlier as they recommended. Laurel's machine makes the prettiest buttonholes!

The addition of pockets also adds extra time to your garment.  The Cinema Dress has set in pockets in the side front seam with welts.  The welts are easy enough to attach.  We finished off ours with a button at the top to hold them in place.

We love the loose fit of these set-in sleeves - they also have a "cuff" at the bottom for added detailing. Needless to say, set in sleeves are an art form in and of themselves.  But with practice, they get easier each time you try. We found that even though the pattern suggested two rows of easing stitched around the sleeve, they are pretty close fitting to the armhole, thus requiring little ease.

I wanted to show you the finished dress inside out so that you can see the detailing in the design.

Start to finish, four hours for Laurel, not including cutting out the pattern.  Again, it's not a difficult dress for an intermediate sewist, but it's more of a "I need a dress next week" kind of project. Softer fabrics with a delicious hand such as this rayon yield great results for this drapey dress, but they can be trickier to hang on to while sewing and pinning (not the sort of fabric to work with after four cups of caffeine).  The Cinema Dress would certainly work well in a nice medium weight cotton batik or print, as well as an Ikat or even a crisp lightweight linen.  

The Cinema Dress made out of an amazing new rayon - here's the link to it!

We've been living in the Summer of Love, celebrating the flower child era of the 60's.  Retro and vintage looks are very popular this year, so don't be weighed down by a particular era. (This dress actually reminds me of the 80's!) We love the "Hippie" (today's "Boho") period, but why not also try one of the fabulous designs from local indie pattern line, Decades of Style for your Summer of Love "Sew-In" garment?  We have loved the Given a Chance Dress and so many women participated when we had a sew along...it's still a great dress!  And it's probably an easy "I want to wear it tomorrow" kind of dress.

Lauren and Claire in their amazing Given a Chance Dress from Decades of Style!

However you interpret the Summer of Love for our Sew-In, we just want you to have fun and enjoy your project.  Don't stress about the time it will take you to finish...just concentrate on the journey.  Put some beautiful music on (or hey, rock and roll works too), settle in and create a masterpiece. Laurel said that while working on her French jacket she never worried about the hours it would take, she just enjoyed all the techniques that she doesn't use very often.  Sometimes there's nothing more gratifying than to perfect a Fell stitch on silk. Me...not so much.

Sending you much love,
Suzan

Come visit Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Downtown Berkeley - a true crossroads to creativity!

A stop over at Burney Falls on our way to see the Total Eclipse up in Oregon!