The Book of Ruth Dress

The biblical story of Ruth…has nothing to do with this dress. I don’t know, guys, sometimes it’s hard to make a catchy title!

That said, the story of Ruth and Naomi is very interesting,  because it’s about these two women who are related to each other in a way that is often seen as contentious, that is, they are daughter and mother-in-law, and yet their closeness was a big part of their survival. This is actually sort of close to the theme of my new novel, more on that in the months to come, so I don’t mind naming this dress which I love so much after that story, even if it has nothing to do with it!

That said, when was the last time you met someone named Ruth? It’s a name that I feel has gone out of fashion, although that probably means it will be soon in fashion again and there will be four Ruths in every kindergarten class. Isn’t it funny how names come in waves? When I was growing up I knew, like, 10 Sarahs. I have met many a Priya my age here in Mumbai, so obviously that had its moment. The Bachelor franchise is a great indicator for this, actually, whatever names (and made up names, I’m looking at you, people named Wes and Ames and Kalon and whatever the hell) were popular like 30 to 23 (shudder) years ago make their way onto those hallowed halls of ugly crying and right reasons.

At any rate, Seamwork toils hard monthly to give us new patterns with new names, and in January, that meant we got the Ruth Dress and the Sky Jumpsuit, so one named by Upper West Side Jews and one named by West Village hippies, both in 1965. As you know, I made Sky recently. But did you know I made Ruth, as well?

Well, NOW you do! And my friend DP took the photos, working hard to find a good background, thank you, DP! And they were on his phone in google photos and the powerful and might google made a GIF! It actually made two, but I will save the next one for the end. I don’t know why it does that, but I kind of love it? Maybe? I don’t know!

I really like this dress. I love the design, honestly. Sometimes I like Seamwork, sometimes I’m meh with Seamwork, and sometimes I straight up fall in love. This is one of those times. It combines many things I love and struggle to find the perfect version of. A woven wrap dress that doesn’t look like my breasts are going to explode out of it? A shirt-dress feel without buttons? A notched collar that doesn’t look like garbage? Check, check, and CHECK!

This was another print out that I realized had printed out of scale, so I cut out a twelve, but it is still a little big. I’ve just cut out another while slimming down the bodice and the waist. Who even knows what size that is? I sure don’t! Eh, whatever works.

The print is from Thakur, of course, obviously, always, and it’s sort of polka dots but it has a sort of floral or seed formation look, I don’t know, I like it! I feel like I wear a lot of bright colors these days, after all, pink is the navy blue of India, so it was kind of nice/odd to walk about in black and white. I did feel quite sophisticated, though! Something about this design just feels very put together (the dreaded phrase) to me, which I love, there is a polish but also a little bit of sexiness, what do you think?

I also love a blousy kimono sleeve.

The tie is subtle, which is nice, I don’t know, as I said, when Seamwork works, it really works for me! Which I guess is the point of constantly releasing new patterns, that you are going to appeal to different people every month and that diversifies your fan base.

It was quite windy when we took these photos! That said, it’s a good way to see that the two halves of the front skirt really do overlap completely, which is good, if you like that sort of thing, which I do!

Speaking of a wrap dress and boobs, I did add two snaps to the spot where the two sides of the dress cross to avoid wardrobe malfunctions aka showing the world which bra I’m wearing. Just a little insurance!

I am so into this dress, I can’t wait to make it all over again! What Seamwork patterns do you love? All? Some? None?

Happy dress dance!

 

 

The Fruit Market Romper

You know how sometimes you ask other people for their opinions as a way to confirm your own, but you don’t really know that that is what is happening until you hear said opinions? Well, sometimes I think I might be like that with fabric.

On a trip to Vietnam with some friends (hi, Travis, Ben and Jill!) I obviously took advantage of being in the region, and my friendships, to seek out a fabric market in Hanoi and get my hands on some material. I bet it was kind of Hanoi-ing, right, guys? (I made that joke a thousand times on our trip. I am surprised we are all still friends.) They were wonderful sports about it, and even helped me pick out a few choice pieces, like this one:

Not only did I love it, I mean, come on, it’s got me written all over it, whimsy, check, fun colors, check, fruits I enjoy eating, well, I go back and forth on papaya but generally, check! I was into it. And so was Rubens!

I knew I loved this print, but what to do with it? Sometimes we buy for a project, but sometimes, the fabric, she calls to us, she wants to be with us, and we must take her home, although we know not what she will become. So I did that, thinking, okay, I mean, you are 31 years old, so, I guess, pajamas? That’s the sensible thing to do, right, pajamas? With a print like this?

Right?

But the fabric, she did not want that. She wanted to be seen, by people other than my husband, various delivery people, and Rubens! She wanted to feel the sun ripening her fruits, like the fruit markets of this region, bursting with life!

No, I thought, no, be sensible, be adult. Find something in a pinstripe, that’s what grown ups wear. Ask the internet said the fabric, consolingly. The internet will tell you that I am meant for greater things.  Well, I did that, absolutely, but the internet, sigh, she can be a fickle beast, and an Instagram poll had beloved viewers (aka like 7 people) split between keeping this fabric as an indoor only situation, and letting it roam free, like the many cows walking the streets of Mumbai.

But something interesting happened, something I imagine the fabric had planned all along, the fruity little vixen. The more people telling me that this fabric was only suitable for lounge attire, the less inclined I was to make a pair of pajamas out of it. My brain, my heart, rebelled. I rebelled against the idea that a 31-year-old, or anyone, at any age, shouldn’t wear fruit-covered clothing and feel good about it. I rebelled at the idea that there is inside and outside fabric. I rebelled at the idea that my beautiful slices of dragon fruit and watermelon and rather ripe bananas, and yes, even the papaya about which I feel no small amount of ambivalence, should be banished from the world, that the precious cloth I had brought with me over land and sea from Vietnam to Kolkata to Mumbai would not have it’s day in the sun.

Reader, I made a romper out of it. And I regret nothing.

Specifically, I made the Seamwork Sky romper.

As my past history may have taught you, I’m not much of a romper person. You have to take them off entirely to go to the bathroom which is a bummer, because you are essentially stripping down in public and I don’t want to do that unless someone pays me, thank you very much. But this design is SO cute, with the obi style belt and the loose bodice and v neck, I was into it. And I like the dress hack Seamwork presented too, so I figured, try it out!

This pattern, however, like the Rachel I recently made, I didn’t print to scale. (I printed like, three patterns at once not to scale, I don’t know how this happened. ) But this time I saw it coming, and sized down to a ten in the waist, and a twelve in the hips and bust. It is still…generous, in sizing, But I like that. I actually think one of the big romper issues across the board is girth, so this was pretty nice!

I would size down or maybe re-print the bodice, though, for another iteration, because the back is so blousy.

Oh, I also made it shorts because…I live in Mumbai, so…..

It’s a little lower cut than I thought it might be. that might be because of this scale thing, or because my cleavage meter is totally different here in India than it is outside of India.

I love that this has pockets. Obviously. The belt, by the way, is a little longer in the original pattern but I shortened it because…I was running out of fabric. WHATCHA GONNA DO.

This is pretty easy to sew up, although it’s construction was very interesting and kind of a cool challenge, one I recommend to others, it’s good to make your brain do new things!

I included the facings, which is rare for me, I usually go bias tape, but I hand stitched them down on the inside because I hate facing flap.

So here it is. My fruit fabric got its day in the sun, and I got a reminder that I get to decide what is and isn’t outdoor fabric. Spoiler alert? It’s all outdoor fabric. All of it.