Unraveling (and raveling)
Posted by: Fats in: Fats, Vitamins & Minerals > Needleworks > Edward's CnC > Projects (Improvs)Just several days ago, I had to admit defeat on the challenge to crochet an entire dress: I ended up cutting the unfinished dress in half, separating the top (sleeveless blouse) from the bottom (an over-the-knee skirt).
The reason for the failure was poor design planning: as a single-piece, the dress looked horribly unflattering on the body because of the waist/hip band design right under a vertical strip along the front of the blouse, thus creating a bulge at the stomach.
So now, I have a blouse and skirt! Below is a photo of the blouse. I removed the brown buttons and replaced them with a crocheted lace with wooden beads at the ends. It actually looked sexier as a laced-up blouse. I also put some tiny seed pearls on the squares at the lower part of the blouse.
And below is a photo of the skirt, which is slipped on and keeps in place since it stretches and clings to the body (not too tight but just enough).
And, feeling rather frustrated with the attempt to crochet a whole dress, I decided to work on a blouse I made a few months ago. I wasn’t completely satisfied with this blouse, especially the lower part done in filet crochet because it looked so stiff and was too short. So what I did was cut away the filet crochet part, hem up the ends and then continue crocheting the lower part. And yes - here I go again - the challenge is to turn this blouse into a whole dress! 
Below is a photo of the blouse-into-dress in progress.
I hope this time it works out! 
Just as I hope that things work out on the advocacy front - when problems seem to be rushing down on us like a tropical depression, from ACTA to the WCO’s SECURE programme! And I am such a slow worker - crochet or other!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
don’t blame yourself. well-fitting knits are really almost impossible to do. that’s why the few Houses that can do this (Missoni, TSE, Balenciaga, Comme des Garcons) charge a fortune for it.
Apparently, if you knit on the bias (tilt your patterns to a 45deg angle), the finished piece will drape better. but doing that would increase your difficulty levels exponentially.
the well-fitting piece, of course, must never get wet by water, and must never be stored on a hanger.
admit it, fats. you’re now a manufacturer of luxury goods, hahaha!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
by the way, did i ever send you a photo of the knitted handbag that Ferragamo released a few years ago? it was retailing for nearly US$2400, if i remember it right.
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
hmmm. i just saw an assymetrical dress crocheted on-the-bias in the March issue of Vogue italia. it’s by jean-paul gaultier, i think. i’ll show u pic at len’s wedding.