A wrap dress, that is.

I bought the Cashmerette Appleton dress pattern a few months ago, and knocked the first one out over the course of a single evening, using a very lightweight cotton jersey with a large-scale floral print splashed across it. I didn’t have to make a single alteration to the pattern, which definitely helps in the short start-to-finish project time. I wore the finished dress to work the week I made it and got compliments from the ladies I work with (who couldn’t believe I had made it myself).

After the success of the first dress, I had every intention of making a couple more dresses in very short order. Of course, free time being what it is (almost non-existent and fickle in its use), I didn’t get around to it until recently. A friend of mine asked me to be in their wedding (the “big day” took place last Saturday, amidst much laughter, love, and an industrial setting), and gave the easy direction of “wear something you like in purple.”

That was a blessing for me, as purple is one of those shades that tends to work quite well with my skin tone and, as luck would have it, I did have a purple dress.

Of course, I hadn’t pulled it out for a while and, when I tried it on again, I wasn’t thrilled with the fit. I mean, it would work, but I was worried about being too conscious of exactly how much it hugs my curves.

The obvious solution was to make a brand new dress, less than a week out from the wedding, right?

I pulled out the Appleton dress pattern, since I knew I wouldn’t have to make any tweaks to get the dress to fit right, and headed to FPB to source some dark purple knit fabric that might work. I was worried I wasn’t going to find something that was the right deep shade (I’m not really a lilac person…more of a plum or eggplant). In the end, there was only one option that was the right shade, weight, and didn’t have a crazy pattern (I am a crazy pattern person, but I try to play it “normal” when it comes to dressing for peoples’ weddings).

I picked up four yards of a deep purple rayon knit — so dark that it almost read black under the florescent lighting, but reads as purple in the light that counts — and set about cutting everything out (after cleaning all the glitter off my workspace, following a recent wreath-making evening).

The dress went together beautifully — no skipped stitches! — and in plenty of time before the wedding. I love the simplicity of the dress, especially for a wedding where we’re all going to be looking at the bride and groom anyway. Maggie took a quick look at it, when I first pulled it out of the bag at the hotel, and was impressed that I had finished the little hole where the left-hand side of the wrap draws through. I paid a lot closer attention to the details of the dress this second time around.

The weather was beautiful on that Saturday – sunny and warm (mid-80s in October?!), with a bit of a breeze to keep us from sweating all of our makeup off. The dress held up nicely – even through the evening’s dancing antics (though I did have to watch myself a little, as things can get a little bouncy, and I didn’t want the wrap front to come undone).

At some point I’ll have a better shot of the whole thing, but for now, here is the dress in its intended environment:

And one of Mel and I in Superhero Pose: