Pugs and Kisses

I’m in love. In love with Michael Miller. Well more specifically with his prints. I only recently discovered them and they are genuinely amazing. Not only is there loads of variety but also there’s so much playfulness behind them. Add to that that they’re quilting cotton and I’m sold. In a twist of fate, I was given a metre and a half of his fabric ‘Pugs and Kisses’ for Christmas. It’s gorgeous and so bold. So I thought I’d channel my inner Dolly Clackett and make it into a dress. Cause I can always rock a mint, pug printed dress. It’d be a nice break from my floral addiction.

Isn’t it cute? Anyway, I knew I wanted to make another Kim dress. I wouldn’t even mind if my whole wardrobe was Kim dresses, that’s how much I love it. One thing I love is its versatility. The bodice goes with literally every skirt type. Initially I was tempted to do variation two straight from the pattern: gathered skirt, pin tucks and sweetheart neckline. But then I got inspired by my moustache skirt and its pleats and thought ,stuff it, I can pleat whatever I like. Since I’d used the sweetheart neckline on all my previous makes and wanted this one more preppy and less sweet, I went with the straight neckline. Now remember how I said I only had a metre and a half of fabric? Well that created a few issues with having enough fabric. In a perfect world, I’d have used 2 metres but that was not to be. Another change I made from my previous makes was rather than just adding a waistband, I lengthened the actual pattern pieces by 3cm. Which turned out to be the perfect length except that I forgot to add it to the centre front and cut out the short piece instead! Thankfully I had a good-sized scrap and was able to sew in a piece at the end. It sort of looks like extra detailing rather than a mistake. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. I sewed the bodice as instructed but instead of lining it I finished the edges with mint bias binding I found on my last trip to Craft Depot, and topstitched rather than tacking it down. I was like feeling lazy, and topstitching is sort of preppy, which was the look I was going for. The skirt was an entirely different matter. Basically, I used two widths of the fabric at the maximum length. I knew the skirt was going to be short, but I didn’t want it to be that short. . Anyway, I cut one of them in half to make room for the zipper and sewed it up into a big rectangle. And then I kind of winged it. I matched up the side seams and centre and just tried to make everything line up. There wasn’t any particular science or math to it. If I were doing it agains I’d probably sit down and work out exactly how wide each pleat would be and where it would be centred. Or use an actual pleated skirt pattern. I would have used the same as my pleated mustache skirt but unfortunately didn’t have enough fabric. Damnation!

I took in my usual amount along the back seam and added an invisible zipper from my thrifting adventure. This dress only continued by obsession with the Kim dress. And also the idea that if I’m not sure about making a dress out of some fabric, it’s a better bet to buy 2 metres of it than 1.5. I just about eeked it out but I’d love to be able to make the skirt just that touch longer. As it is I had to finish it with bias binding as there wasn’t enough for a turned hem. It also confirmed my adoration of Michael Miller prints. I’ve already got plans for two more dresses with his fabrics (coming soon!). Finally, I wore this dress out window shopping today and every shop we went into the sales assistants commented on my dress. I’m going to make that down as a success for sewing and individuality!