Adelaide Dress in Silk

If there is one thing missing from my closet it is date-night dresses.  I’ve got casual wear covered but I don’t have many let’s-go-out-without-the-kids outfits.  So when I saw the Adelaide dress from Seamwork Mag I thought I’d have a go at dressing it up.  Now the pattern calls for a heavier fabric like linen or another bottom weight but I made mine in silk.  I went to an estate sale this summer for a woman who was a prolific sewer and I walked away with 4 yards of 100% pure Italian silk fabric for $2.  Such a score!  I’ve never sewn with silk before but given how little I paid for the fabric I didn’t have to feel nervous using it. 

It was a bit of a gamble to sew my first dress, no muslin, in precious fabric that is the wrong type for the pattern.  But hey, what’s life without a little risk? And, for the most part it paid off.

I made the medium and I was worried it would be tight in the hips but it fits just fine.  If anything it’s a wee bit tight across the upper chest and arm scythe.  The silk is glorious to wear, it feels amazing.

I did shorten the length, it hit at my knee and that length looks very frumpy on me with this style of dress.  It does mean, of course, that the dress is a date-night only outfit because I can’t be bending over and dealing with kid-stuff in this shorty-short!   I also added french seams.  With the silk fabric I knew the dress would need some added structure and the potential for fabric fraying is pretty high, french seams would accomplish both so it was an easy decision. I’m a big fan of french seams, so elegant and they sound so fancy and difficult but are really so easy…just two stitches instead of one.

The one thing I don’t like are the belt loops, I’m going to have to down-size them because they really stick out a lot.  Thankfully, that is an easy fix.

Isn’t this fabric great?! I was concerned it looked a little old-lady, I guess because I got it an estate sale, but it’s fun. Sewing with silk wasn’t actually that hard.  I definitely used more pins that I normally do but it wasn’t too slippery.

Now, I realize this dress isn’t super fancy and probably ranks as awfully casual to many people.  For me, though, a simple silk button-up dress is dressy and when my husband and I go out we go for dinner and drinks.  I think my style, in general, leans toward dressy-casual.  Date night dresses rank as ‘special’ in my world when they are a little flirty and something the kids would ruin if I wore it near them.  My Adelaide in silk, therefore, qualifies! Boom! Closet updated! Now throw a cardigan over this cutie and I’m ready for some beers with my man.