Euro Cup Dress

I don't know if you have heard, Portugal has made it to the final match! Big game this afternoon. And such an occasion calls for a new dress, right? Sure, I could have picked up a Euro Cup official Portugal tee-shirt but what fun would that be?  

It was at Northwest fabrics when I came across these cotton knit fabrics that the thought of  a Euro dress started to form in my head. I browsed through their pattern book and decided to go with Kwik Sew 4173, silly me. Thankfully, the Kwik Sew pattern was not available at the only store in the city that carries Kwik Sew patterns and I had to resort to finding an alternative. I picked up two metres of the red and green and one metre of the yellow knit fabrics with only an idea to make a Euro dress. I did consider making a top, Vogue 9130, but then remembered I had a perfectly cool Marcy Tilton dress pattern that would be perfect for colour-blocking with the colours of the Portuguese flag. 

And that is the pattern I used, Vogue 9081. It is the first time I used this pattern that has been in my stash for quite some time. And goodness, is it ever comfortable, I can't believe it took me so long to make this one. I love everything about this pattern.  

I cut the shoulder and armhole as a size 12 and the rest as a size 14. The pattern was super easy to sew which worked out great because I was on a time crunch. Most of my time was spent cutting the three different colours out in single layers. Let's just say, it was a late night and there was lots of coffee involved.  

This was at the point that I left things last night in order to get some sleep. 

I got up early and finished up the hem in time to head to church to say a few prayers before the big game.  

Either way, whoever wins, it will certainly be an exciting game. And I ended up with a new dress that I really like.  

The only change that I made to the dress was when it came to do the neckline. Instead of keeping one shoulder seam open, attaching the neckline binding, stitching in the ditch, and then carefully trimming the excess fabric, I decided to go another route. I sewed the bias cut strips together, folded it in half and then stitched it with a 1/2" seam allowance. I appreciate the extra coverage this alternative allowed. 

For the hem, I used the fusible bias interfacing. I really like the clean finish and structure it gives to the hem. All hems were hand-stiched and the dress was sewn with a walking foot and knit stitch.   

The Stats:  

Fabric:   3.3 metres cotton knit

Fusible bias interfacing:  1.5 metres

Pattern:   Vogue 9081

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Janome sewing machine, serger, walking foot, cutting table, pins, scissors, thread clippers, hand needle, iron, ironing board, coffee, and more coffee.

So, will you be watching the big match?  

Happy Sewing!