A Wearable Toile in Toile de Jouy

Some fabrics just have to wait around for the right project, and I was never really sure what that was going to be for this particular quilting cotton . . . until last summer.

I always envisioned that it would make an adorable pair of pajamas.  But I don't really love wearing pajamas, and the print was too cute not to be made into something that was going to be worn.

But when I came across Simplicity 9040, I decided that the toile de jouy print was a perfect choice.

I was able to match the print fairly well, although that did mean that I wouldn't have enough fabric to cut duplicate sleeve pieces for the lining.  But honestly, this turned out for the best, as the print would more than likely have shown through with that white background.  And since I had a plain white cotton voile stashed away, that was the obvious solution.

The pattern calls for the neckline to be finished with bias tape.  I don't love the poly cotton stuff that you can find ready-made, so I used the voile to make my own.

And now for the fun part - the rick-rack!

I wanted to visually separate the pocket pieces in some way so that they didn't get completely lost in the print.  Piping came to mind, but as I was rifling through my sewing stuff, I came across my rick-rack collection.

And that seemed like the perfect option.

The outer pocket edges were embellished as well as the pocket flap.

I hand basted everything into place to make the top-stitching process easier.

I have a stash of silk thread that I use for basting stitches because it's so easy to remove.

And, it's official, I have rediscovered my love of rick-rack!

I somehow ran out of white seam binding, so I used pale pink instead.  And I rather like the look of it against the white background.

Did I already mention how much I love those pockets?!

I also happened to have the perfect blue buttons stashed away, which was rather convenient.

One thing to note on this pattern is that the neckline is rather wide.  It's wearable, but if I make the pattern again, I will definitely alter that part of the pattern.

But my main reservation with this pattern was the elastic waist.  I generally don't like the way they look on me, but I liked this design enough to give it a try.  And I am glad that I did.

I am quite pleased with the dress, and especially with those rick-rack adorned pockets!  I definitely need to find more occasions to use my rick-rack stash.  And those tie sleeves aren't too shabby, either!!