Crafty Corner | “Briar Rose,” Part Three

BriarRose, Part One
BriarRose, Part Two

Admittedly, my enthusiasm for this project fizzled out after a while. Part of it was due to being sick of the whole quarantine malarkey (heh, me and everyone else in the wonky world, I daresay), but another part was an odd reluctance to tackle re-drafting my princess-seam pattern.

It didn’t make sense that I’d have kept my bodice pattern, but not the full-length dress. And what about all the different-shaped neckline supplements I’d labored over? Had I tossed them, too? ’Cos I sure couldn’t find them, either, despite looking through both supply closets in the sewing room. It irked me, to be honest, that I’d have (apparently) been stupid enough to toss a pattern made specifically for my somewhat odd proportions. As my Elven characters are so fond of saying, it is not wisdom.

Fast-forward to sometime in mid-May. Mom and I were sorting through our various pillow-forms in one of said supply closets—determining just how many pillows we really need in this house—when what should come crashing down on Mom’s head but…my princess-seam dress pattern! Complete with neckline supplements!
Quoth I: “Where was this six months ago, when I searched every inch of these closets for it?!” (Well, obviously not *every* inch, LOL)

That’s the good news.

The bad news is…I just don’t enjoy sewing that much. I love the design process—possibly my favorite part of any creative endeavor, TBH—and it’s exciting when the construction phase gets to that “hey, it’s starting to look like something!” point.

However, cutting out fabric (especially in complex shapes) has always scared me, and frankly, my skills just aren’t on the same level as my vision. I can do basic sewing pretty well, but the more formal garments I’ve made myself always turned out looking like a fifth grade Home Ec project (back when schools actually taught sewing classes, oy).

And of course, once you’ve cut a piece of fabric, there’s no going back. It’s not like yarnwork or beaded jewelry, where you can just disassemble the thing if it doesn’t work out. I mean, you could re-cut the fabric into something smaller, but…yeah. I decided I didn’t need that kind of stress in my already stressful life.

Another fact I had to admit was that I’m not as fond of pink as I once was (haven’t been for the last decade, really), and a solid-pink dress just seemed like a bit much. A bit too girly and floofy, especially with white lace trim.

We’d toyed with the idea of putting the roses on a white dress—even thought of refashioning Mom’s 1970’s-style wedding gown!—but vetoed the idea, as white is hard to keep clean, and frankly…who wears white dresses these days, save brides?

Fast-forward again to this past Wednesday, when Mom and I spotted this white tunic/short dress at the local Goodwill.

It’s made of an interesting knit fabric, which we thought would go well with the crocheted roses. While it’s too short to wear as a dress (for my taste, anyhow), it’s a graceful length for a tunic with fitted trousers, or even a flared A-line skirt. I may even wear my old pink mock-up (featured in Part One) under it.
It’s fitted, but not skin-tight, and the material is soft and stretchy enough that it’s easy to move around in. I love this flared style, and the vertical lines are quite flattering on me. Really, my only beef is that the “stripes” aren’t quite centered. *ERGLE* Aw well, can’t have everything. :-P

Imagine vines between the blossoms,
and more leaves and flowers, and....

I played around with what colored motifs I had, and I must say, I’m quite in love with it, overall. The pink and green on the white background is so fresh and clean-looking.
I’m not 100% sold on the lower arm design; the Rosebud and Half-open Rose don’t quite feel right, and the Full-blown Rose seems a bit much. I may work up a miniature version of the hem border….

Also, the area between the hem and the waist looks a bit bare, and I’m not sure I want an actual “belt”/girdle at the waist.

That said, I love the large rose and cascading leaf design at the sleeve-head and neckline, and the Rosebud at the shoulder. Will probably tweak the Half-open Rose and leaf placement once I get the Vine made and sewn down.
I’m also debating whether to decorate the back of the tunic or leave it relatively plain.

So yeah; I still have a bit of work to do on this project—mainly crocheting a few more flowers, and lots more leaflets—but not nearly as much as when this was going to be a full-on party-frock! >_< I think this approach will be more realistically achievable, and be more comfortable to wear in Real Life. Let’s face it; the long dress would only have been suitable for square dances—which I didn’t attend very often even when they were still a thing (darn you, COVID!). A tunic is still elegant and feminine, but less formal and potentially costumey.

I am so looking forward to finishing this project!

Until next time, Gentle Readers,
God bless,

~ℛ~