Put on your Red Dress and Dance the Blues

I haven't posted in a while. A long while. About six months ago I got very enthused about quilting. I decided to (with apologies to Hyperbole and a Half) quilt all the things! I bought fabric! I made plans! Then I jammed it all in a cupboard and spent six months focusing on my photography instead. Oops.

However, I made a vague New Years resolution to dress in a way that doesn't look like a rolled out of bed with 5 minutes to get ready and put on something that passed the sniff test from my floor (current method of FASH-UN). Among the things I went and bought while on my quilting buzz was 4m of giraffe print short pile fabric. WHO DOES THAT? Me, apparently. Here it is:

Anyway. It's been staring at me from under my stairs for six months and two days ago I asked Twitter what the hell I should do with it. Make a dress! said one of my lovely followers. Suddenly my head filled with visions of a Dior New Look style dress, but you know, in giraffe faux fur. I went on a shopping mission for supplies: I'd need a petticoat to fulfil my vision. Luckily my local fabric store was having a sale, so I managed to snag 6m of tulle, fabric for a waistband, thread and elastic all of $22.

Then last night I set about constructing a three tiered petticoat.

In the true spirit of sewing projects started at 11pm, I took my measurements, cut the tulle, squinted and went 'that doesn't look quite right'. Turns out I was right with the measurements and the finished product hung a tiny smidge too low. I fixed it with some hand sewing this morning, but that's why there are no pictures of the petticoat by itself. I tried to take more progress pictures, but George insisted on helping:

My hands are covered in scratches from where he got all bitey when I asked him to move off his tulle so I could sew it. Bad kitteh.

However! I finished it in about two hours, and tried it on under a red dress I've never really worn because it doesn't work without a petticoat. It's made from this odd red fabric that it looks like I skinned a muppet for. I didn't though, promise. No muppets were harmed in the making of the dress.

I look very stern, but that's just my 'it's 2am' face. Anyway. More pictures to come of the petticoat and the dress-to-be. I'm all enthused all over again though: I always forget how much I like sewing, and how relaxing it is. I fell asleep easily last night for the first time in months. I'm already mulling over more projects, but I won't be counting my chickens before they're hatched this time though.