My first make in almost a year.
When I started my PhD 3 years ago I naively thought I'd have as much time for my hobbies as before. But of course I don't. And it's not even because of the PhD, but because I work part time on the side of it, and in addition have chosen to live far from the university and have a commute (I did until the lockdown anyway). That still leaves me some free time, but there has been a shift in my priorities. Now I'd rather use that time to be out walking, or read books, or bake some bread.
The other reason I'm sewing less is that I've lost my appetite for it. I have been critical of fast fashion for a long time, but I've only relatively recently turned that critical view to my own production of clothes. Because ultimately, whether I buy more clothes than I need or make more clothes than I need, both have an adverse environmental impact.
So I make a LOT less than I used to, only a handful of things per year, and that suits me fine. When I sew something it's an absolute treat, and I'll put in so much more care and effort to make something well so it can last me a long time.
Like this dress. I've wanted a little red dress for the longest time. So I bought myself some nice cotton jersey, and sewed with care, attention and joy. I used the Rachel wrap dress pattern by Maria Denmark, but made it a lot shorter, and I'm delighted with the result.
Unfortunately I didn't take the same care when taking the photos as when sewing, so it looks ill-fitting. The truth is that I was sunbathing for a few hours, waiting for that magical evening light, and was pretty sweaty and sticky when I pulled this on. So it clinged to all the sweatiest parts of me, and I didn't have a mirror to hand to adjust before snapping a few shots of it. Ah well. You'll just have to take my word for it that it fits better than it looks.
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