Confessions of a Craft Addict

There are times when I pick up a fabric and just know what it wants to be. This gorgeous cotton sateen from Lecien (Atelier Akiko) was just begging to be made into something from one of my Japanese sewing books. Something feminine, with clean lines that would really showcase the fabric.

Now that it’s done, I look at the dress and know my instincts were right on.

The pattern was from this book, which I’ve sewn from before but it’s been a while. I forgot to add a seam allowance to the straps of the bodice, which made turning it right-side out a little challenging. At one point, I seriously feared that I’d ripped the fabric. Fortunately, I was mistaken but I was holding my breath for a few minutes there.

I could not find the skirt bottom or the pocket on the pattern sheet, but based on the instructions I was pretty certain both pieces were supposed to be sort of self drafted. I fussy-cut some of the border print near the selvage for the top of the pocket (which is hard to see in the picture — my model was not being super cooperative that day). You’ll just have to take my word for it that there’s a sweet little hand-drawn bow near the top edge of the pocket.

Now to wait for spring so this sweet little dress can get some use!

Tags: atelier akiko, Inspiration, japanese fabric, Japanese sewing book, lecien, Sewing