Metalicus Inspired Long Tank Dress

I am thinking old girls like me should not hunch over the floor cutting and pinning and shaping all day.  I had fun and in one day I actually made something, however a few days on I am paying for it with a day in bed with back pain.

To the dress, which is more interesting than listening to me whinge about my back.  Apologies for the phone photo. Yes, that is a lot of doctors room type stuff, pap smear stuff to be specific, for I had no time to take the picture before I left for work.

I found this mustard-y-yellow stretchy gauze type fabric on the sale rack at Spottie last week.  For $5 a meter I grabbed a few meters, thinking it would make a great long tank dress.

The details: I used a firm fitting long tank I already owned to cut out a pattern.  I traced straight onto the fabric,on the folding, using the first piece as my pattern.  My tank only goes mid thigh, so I made a gentle, slight A line down to floor length.  The fabric was very thin, so I cut out 4 pieces, sewing 2 dresses, so to speak, then attaching them together around the neck line, in the same way you would line a bag. I then top stitched the neckline layers so they would sit well

I then had no idea how to hem around the arm holes, so I simply zig zagged the layers together then made a long strip of ruffles sewing them over the raw edges.  I left the bottom un-hemmed, though adding another ruffle did occur to me.

All up I am pretty chuffed with the result.  Here I am wearing the dress with a low belt.  I also had on a pale blue and white stripped jacket that day and nude heels.  Later in the week I wore it with a bright blue belt on the waist and blue ballet flats for a more casual look.  I am thinking in winter it would look great with my black jacket and boots, or perhaps a grey waterfall cardigan.

When I showed the dress off to Bungalow Girl, she mentioned she was nervous about sewing with knits.  Do not be nervous people, just go slow and use a narrow zig zag stitch.  Though next time I am going to have a go with a double needle, if i can find one to fit old Hilda.

xx