To take a break from my CPSIA crusade, I wanted to write a little bit about how I am inspired. It really comes in all forms. Sometimes I'll see a shirt detail, something in nature, a colorful room, and each one of those things will get me thinking.
This time I was thumbing through Metropolitan Home on the airplane headed from Boston to Detroit. I spied that wonderful pillow you see pictured with the black and white polka dots. I love the strips of fabric and how the fabric was folded in on itself. Well, the rest just followed. Thinking on my stash at home I decided that Amy Butler's martini polka dot would be the perfect fabric on which to try this out. So, down to the workroom I went. I really wanted to leave the tucks un-sewn, but when that didn't work, I put plan B into action and topstitched each of the slanted pleats, and the result is what you see.
The gathered skirt has three horizontal growth pleats (mainly because I needed to shorten the length), but the real design feature is several criss-crossing pintucks that flirt around the bottom of the skirt. I like the way these mimic the slanted pleating on the yoke. Whoever said you needed to sew straight lines!
I love getting inspiration from other designers, but obviously my dress is nothing like the pillow, just my own take on it. I don't think any designer designs in a vacuum. There are always those who come before, and after all the human form hasn't changed much over the centuries. Thanks to Amy Butler, as her fabric lends itself perfectly to this style, and I can't wait to try it in different colors.
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