Bicycle Belladone

Sun, Nov 30, 2014

One of the most infuriating feelings in the world is getting to a train station just as the train is pulling out. This time, I ran up to the train as the doors shut in my face, and the conductor sad-shrugged at me. Sadly, the Caltrain runs every hour, so missing the train results in being catastrophically late for whatever you were planning to do.

And that’s how I found myself at the 22nd Street Caltrain station with an hour to kill, and no one around. Perfect time to start making silly faces at a camera, while I figure out how this self-timer thing works! I don’t know how people look natural in photos – I’m actually the worst at this. I end up making the grumpy cat face in at least half of the things I take.

This is easily my favorite pattern right now – I’ve only made 3 versions of it. :P It’s an 8-piece pattern, with 8 darts total, so it comes together in a few hours. The bias tape binding and skirt facing make finishing the dress a breeze, since there’s no fussy folding hem.

You can tell I haven’t seen sun in ages. So much wincing!

The fabric makes me so happy. This is Art Gallery Fabric’s Cleta run, in bikaleidescope.

The insides are pinked, with a line of straight stitches right before the pinked edge. This is my third blind hem, and I’m still in love with the technique. I don’t have a blind hem foot, so it’s a lot of careful and finicky sewing.

My back is freakishly bent – I need to make a sway back adjustment to everything I make. I think this fits pretty well, though! Unlike the space dress, I didn’t take in the side seams, so this has more ease around the waist. I think I like the space dress more because of that alteration, though.

I love how perfectly the back pieces lie. This is the same adjustment I’ve made with all the other Belladones – take a wedge out of the back.

Fabric // Quilting weight cotton by Art Gallery Fabric (Bikaleidoscope from Cleta)

Pattern // Deer and Doe’s Belladone

Adjustments

Same as the spaceship belladone and the hot pink belladone, minus the waist-cinching.