This was written by An from StraightGrain for the Miss Matatabi Makers series.

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Hi everyone! This is An from StraightGrain with another Miss Matatabi Makers post.

In the past weeks, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with princess seams. More particularly, I’ve been thinking on ways to adapt them into something original and unique. The dress I’m showing you today is a first little experiment in this new obsession.

I started off with a basic bodice design, which I lengthened to an A-line dress. In the front and back I added princess seams, which run all the way to the hem of the dress. I merged the back and front side pieces, so there are no side seams in the dress. I added big pockets which disappear into the princess seams.

I’m pretty happy with the result. It’s not perfect yet – I’d like to add a bit more curve to the side seams in a next version – but I’ve had worse ‘first versions’ of new ideas 😉

Now, about the two fabrics I used. Yes, that is two, not three! The grey and striped fabrics are actually the two sides of one and the same fabric. This reversible spacer knit is by far the most special fabric I have ever worked with. It looks like two layers of knit which have been merged by millions of little… hairs! I took a close-up of the fabric so you can see what I mean:

The result is a very soft, thick but stretchy knit. It is just a joy to work with! Not suitable for every project (I don’t think it would gather well, for instance) but oh so perfect for certain types of projects, such as garments with more boxy silhouettes. I think it would be great for a women’s A-line dress in Twiggy style, for instance. Myself, I hope to stitch a simple tote from the left-overs. How awesome would those stripes look combined with some brown leather?

The mustard yellow fabric I used for the pockets comes from my stash. It is a Nani Iro wata double gauze, a left-over from this baby blanket. I think the color combines so well with the black and white stripes.

Come to think of it, I actually did use a third fabric. I lined the bodice with the thinnest knit fabric I could find in my stash… swimsuit fabric! I topstitched the neckline and armholes with a zigzag stitch so that the lining would stay in place.

Norah was thrilled with her new dress. I think she immediately recognized how much junk those two big pockets would be able to carry. Less than 15 minutes after she put on the dress, I found an empty toilet roll, 15 ad cards, and a pen in them. The next day, she parked half her cars collection in them.

In the coming weeks I would like to give this dress a try in woven fabrics. Maybe something for a next MMM post?

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Thank you so much An! Connect with An on her blog, instagram, facebook, and pinterest.