I started making this shirtwaist dress in rayon challis years ago but have recently finished the darn thing. It took me so long to complete it because I could not find the right buttons for it, then finding a buckle and belt, and so on and so forth. Eventually I found some great buttons and then lost them for months. Then I found them but was thinking against using them. Oh the dilemmas! But, in the end, I finally decided on what to do. I went with my original button choice but decided to use a black belt from a previous project. I did not make a belt for this one because I thought the all black one was ideal. Since there was so much pink here, I wanted to break it up so I added the back cotton binding to the collar and center front.
When I first purchased this material, I found it online, I did not think it was this pink. When I got it I was almost blinded by the intensity of the color. Thank goodness for the little abstract flowers in black, cream, and grey. Without those little subtle touches this material would be too much. Figuring out what to make out of it was challenging. I settled on the shirtwaist because it was a simple design that I knew would work well with such a vibrant color.
The rayon challis was a new material for me and I have not worked with it since this dress. The reason for that is because rayon challis is hard to come by here and the place I got this from went out of business I think. Working with it was an adventure. Cutting out the pieces was a pain. The pieces kept slipping and sliding resulting in a little warping. I think if I work with this material again, I will use pattern weights instead of pins. The actual sewing was fine though.
With this look, I chose some simple shoes and white socks. Since I had added black to break up this color, I wore a black faceted glass necklace I found at Lakeshore Antiques (one of my favorite places for goodies). Since summer is inching its way here, some hairflowers. . .
