Patricia Rose in Gatti Colorati

There are two things going on here! First, I’m trying to overcome my lethargy of the last 15 months by taking pics and posting. And it does help my sense of well-being. Second, I am in love with the stretch cotton sateen designer collections at Mood Fabrics! This fabric is Gatti Colorati, how charming…

It”s not lightweight, in fact has a bit of structure, but is perfect for ‘controlled’ silhouettes, e.g., pants, jackets, and dresses.

On to the dress! I started with the Style Arc Patricia Rose.

And I added several design elements. Starting with the bodice, I ditched the fold at the bottom of the bodice and used a plain seam edge to attach the skirt. (BTW, ages ago I modified my Patricia Rose back to mirror the front. The original is one piece, mine is two).

I modified the skirt by adding a ruffle. And large patch pockets across the side seams!

I just love this, it’s fun and funky and so easy to wear.

An aside, having chosen a paragraph block on WordPress and not being able to edit the text without changing modes, clicking all over the place, gritting my teeth, I truly think WordPress has gone overboard with its ‘upgrades’. It takes me 5 clicks to insert an image. Silly, but I do like WordPress as my blog tool. Sigh.

Onward, my latest discovery with wax prints. I really love the large prints and vibrant colors. But I was dismayed by the stiffness of the fabric, even after a pre-wash (I buy cotton wax prints, the alternative is polyester, not something I would enjoy in a dress). The substrate is a fairly rough cotton weave, similar to Kona but heavier and denserFro. When I bought my first yardage, I washed it in cold water because of all the dye. And it came out of the wash just like it went in – no loss of color and still stiff.

Solution: a couple more launders, warm water, fabric softener. These dresses are getting much softer with each iteration! In the future, and wax prints are definitely in my future, I will launder more aggressively, at least three times before using the yardage. As with linen 🙂

From the House of Mami Wata

I hope this finds you well, perhaps feeling more energy, and, of course, loved. Bye for now, Coco