Just Sew: Japanese? Remix

Well, nothing like another season of Project Run and Play to kick me back into blogging gear.  This summer, my girls and I got to visit an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum entitled Future Beauty:  30 Years of Japanese Fashion.  And while there was lots of amazing sewing and mind-boggling techniques, one of my favorite moments was a collection of three sweet dresses on the wall that actually looked like something I would wear.  The silhouettes were similar to the popover dress, only with cap sleeves.  I wanted to recreate the proportions, the use of patterns, and a graphic element like I saw on one of those dresses.

So, obviously for the remix, I pieced together three pieces of fabric.  The solid pink is from a thrift store sheet.  The stripes and the cutie animal print are from some old Birch organic fat quarters.  I also took  advantage of the bias tape in the design and lined the dress with the pink sheet and then hemmed the dress with bias tape as well.  And let me tell you, I sewed this thing so carefully that it became a reversible dress!  On accident!  I am so proud and cannot wait to show it to my husband's grandmother.  When she turns it inside out (because she always does) I won't even flinch.

The only thing left to mention is the lack of a model for this dress.  I am sewing all of this season's themes for my new niece, who is waiting in the Congo to come home to my little sister.  Like all adoption stories this one has been long, and also particularly heartbreaking, but we eagerly expect little Noel by the end of this year.