An Emery Dress for a Rainy Day

I was finishing off sewing a dress this weekend when I realised that I still hadn't got round to showing you the last dress that I made. As my semi-bare legs in the photos may hint, I've had the photos ready to go for about a month but they've been neglected waiting for the writing to accompany them. I blame a slightly stressful month in terms of work. It wasn't anything major, and stress levels in my job are definitely nothing compared to many professions, but it was enough to make sitting at a computer again the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day. Thankfully that's all over now, so here's my (kind of) new dress!

As you may have guessed (or read in the title), this is my latest iteration of the Christine Haynes Emery dress (previous versions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). I made no changes other than my standard fit adjustments that I've mentioned in my other Emery posts.

This time, I chose to make it in a fun umbrella print from the Dashwood Studio Rain or Shine collection. I bought the fabric about 6 months ago because I found it with a great discount, but always intended to leave it until early autumn to sew up when umbrellas would probably be more weather-appropriate. Not that I didn't need my umbrella during the summer, but I always like to be optimistic!

I also always knew that this fabric would become an Emery dress because I think it's a great pattern for showing off a fun print. It's also undoubtedly my favourite pattern, mainly because I know that I'm always going to end up with a dress I love. If ever my motivation to sew is slightly lacking, or I've been left disappointed by a project, I know that making an Emery will put everything right again. Do you have a magic pattern that does the same for you?

Having extolled the virtues of the Emery, I have to sightly contradict myself and say that this one almost didn't have a happy ending. I was trying the almost-finished dress on when I got the bodice lining stuck in the zip. Completely, totally and utterly stuck. And I was stuck in the dress too. I momentarily debated which would be the less bad option between cutting and ruining the dress to get it off, or going round to one of my neighbours (who I don't know very well) to ask for help, but finally I managed to find some contortionist skills to free myself, and that made releasing the lining much easier. Please tell me I'm not the only one who's done that?!

Anyway, thankfully I can put that little crisis behind me and get on with enjoying my pretty new Emery! I've got a couple of other finished and nearly-finished projects ready to show you, and work has now returned to normal so hopefully I'll be back to enjoying blogging again instead of hiding away from the computer. See you soon!