variations on a theme

Hola Chiquitas*  The dress is done!     ::does a happy dance of happiness::   This is my fourth version of New Look 6557 - which I think officially makes it my favorite.   As google+ ate the pictures of my earlier posts, I offer you a glimpse through the ages right here. 

This project was the result of my frustration with the fuss of fitting the mod cloth inspired dress and the other jacket I was trying to make for the work event.  Both were coming together, but it was too slow and I just wanted to knock something out.   Earlier today Scruffy Badger was talking about favorite parts of sewing, and I've realized mine is the victory dance when I finish a project.   I enjoy the process, but too long without a feeling of accomplishment and I get grumpy.    I'd planned to take a few days off sewing, but found myself going through my stash and landing on my perennial favorite, the brown border print eyelet- I decided if I did a straight skirt, I would have **just** enough to pull off this pattern and not muss the pretty design.    It was close.    Originally, I had planned to leave the skirt unlined, and let the holes rest around my ankles, cut the middrift out of plain eyelet, since and otherwise have a low key-vacationy dress.   However,  I realized I didn't have a facing for the bodice, which would make it messy, that the fabric was awfully transparent for a single layer, and that an unlined middrift would limit the times I could wear it.  

So... I came to my senses, cut off the top, unadorned portion of the skirt fabric and used it to line the bodice.   This left me with a knee length skirt, the solid part of which actually reached mini-skirt lengths, but with what was peaking through the eyelet, it actually seemed rather more provocative than a regular short skirt would be.   (It struck me as very naughty librarian, when outfitted with the cardigan I would normally wear it with) 

 
Thus, It required a lining - being at this point down to tiny scraps, I went off to the fabric store and found the darkest brown they had, and popped it in - and it is now perfect.  (despite the lousy picture - trust me on this one)

The construction may be a bit half-assed (I finished no seams nicely) and the skirt pleating slightly uneven (I did it by eye with what I had) but I am as pleased as punch.   Huzzah for random urges.   Oh yeah, and this is stash bust 2-6.

*on the off chance you were curious, I use this as a general purpose greeting, regardless of the gender(s) of the party I am addressing.   While it occasionally causes my gentleman friends to blink once or twice, they then realize its me, and that I spent most of last summer desperately trying *not* to address my entire office as string cheese, and they just go with it.