Silk chiffon is not my favorite

If there's a more difficult fabric to work with then silk chiffon, I've yet to encounter it. It's paper thin, drapey, but has a mind of its own and is difficult to get to lay properly. Oh, not to mention almost impossible to cut out on grain. Now add to that 1/4" bias binding around the neckline, armholes, and back closure, and you've got a recipe for ripping your hair out.

This is dress 130 from the December 2008 Burda issue which I loved the moment I laid eyes on it nearly two years ago. I bought the fabric just a few months later, but it's been languishing in my backlog ever since because I've been too darn intimidated to cut into it.

I cut this out a week ago and have spent an entire week sewing just the top part. This fabric is so impossible to work with that I can only take it in short bursts. But I've finally gotten all the horrid bias bindings done, and can now start on the skirt. I was so unsure about the top working out that I didn't even trace or cut out the rest of it. That way if it turned into a disaster I wouldn't be wasting my beautiful navy wool crepe.


Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately. No baby yet, just swollen feet. Oh, and somebody posted a comment about wanting to see what I look like lately. (Sorry! - I'm too lazy to go back and find out who it was.) Here's a picture from my baby shower with my girlfriends who hosted the event. Dang! The camera adds at least 10 pounds, right?!