It is short before Christmas and I feel like everything must be done at the same time: decorating your home, buying gifts, wrapping up unfinished work/art projects, and at the same time dealing with rising covid counts and especially wet and dark weather. And what I really want to do is knit, read, drink tea, and maybe bake some Christmas cookies. So, this week’s #needleworkmonday post came timely to give me the perfect excuse to not work or plan, but to take a break and write about some super cuddly, warm, and soft winter sewing in form of a huuuuge dress.
You all know how much I love Japanese sewing books and although they are all very beautiful, there are still some that stand out in my view. Some of these extra special books are from the designer Asuka Hamada who not only makes edgy but wearable garment designs, no she also has a wonderful book with knitting patterns and a book full of textile art. And today’s super cuddle dress is inspired from one of her color block garments: I tried the easiest hack ever – means I transformed a sweater into a dress. (So, if you do not have this book, you can use every other wide, dropped shoulder sweater pattern you have in your stash.)
I stared with her sweater number F from the book Colour blocking, a design I already have sewed once (without alterations). I decided to use the fleece fabric I still had in my stash and used a large amount of black and as an accent a dark plum for one sleeve and the turtleneck. The fit of the sweater is very oversized with its waist width of 144 cm and the original sweater is also fairly long. For the dress I shortened the body and omitted the waistband. And to get a warmer garment I changed the turtleneck construction. The original turtleneck is made from one layer of fabric and I decided to fold it. For the skirt I cut out two rectangles with a total width of 184 cm which I gathered slightly at the waist.
The dress came together very fast. I at first made the sweater and then attached the skirt part. I tried the dress on to check if the waist height and the total length is ok for my taste and then I finished with the hems. And tada in less then a half day I had a dress.
And this is a huge dress: Like so huge I could wear a coat inside the dress :-DDD It came out a tad bigger than I anticipated. But although I am sure I will not start a new fashion trend with this dress, I already wore it outside and its so cozy and warm. Its like wearing a blanket. And I can conveniently wear as many layers beneath it as I like or even hide a hot-water bottle :-DDD
With this short and easy inspiration to sew yourself a comfort garment I want to send you a big hug, send you my wishes that you have a as stress-free and healthy as possible end of the year time. If you celebrate Christmas, then I wish you a wonderful fest <3 <3
Thank you 
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