"Mom, it's in the mail"

My Mom's birthday gift got mailed yesterday -- a black silk version of Burda 06-2009-128. Here's J holding up the parcel that she decorated with ladybug stickers. Didn't bother taking photos since (a) it's black and the lines just won't show up online and (b) this dress really needs to be on a person to show the drape. But the beige Burda mag photo gives you the idea. It’s a faux-wrap dress. I love this dress. Made myself one for last summer and received one compliment after another – made out of some seersucker from Fabricland’s remnant section. The beauty of the design is that there’s an additional bodice underneath the wrap parts so everything remains covered – even when you pick up your child.

Mom’s dress is the third version I’ve made of this pattern and along the way discovered I’ve sewn one section wrong for three sections. Notice the wonderful unsewn pleats that come out of the waist into the bodice on the beige version? Well, for three versions, I’ve taken the extra time to line up the pleat lines and sew them for an inch or so. Fortunately that didn’t affect the fit of the dress but I’ll finally do it right on the fourth version I’m making for our impending trip to Virginia.

How my mother ended up with a black silk version of this dress is a story in itself. For Christmas, I wanted to make Mom a silk jersey version of the DKNY cardigan so many were making in blogland. I found silk lycra online in New York at Spandex House. Ironically, a member of the congregation was in New York for a Conference. I sent her a message on facebook and she went out of her way to pick up the fabric. I was so excited when she got back and passed me the fabric. I felt the fabric. It was so incredibly light, a beautiful satin finish and…..oh…..it’s woven. Not a knit. Mom ended up with a black DKNY cardigan made out of bamboo knit and I set aside the silk woven satin for her birthday and a dress.

I do hope she likes the dress. Since it’s sleeveless, she was worried about being too cold. But at least, she’ll also have the black wrap cardigan!

This is my second item in silk lately. I think in the future I’m going to stick to making family gifts out of fleece, cotton or flannel. I love my family but silk is a hassle and being such a practical bunch I know the fleece, cotton and flannel will actually get worn!