My sister, Melanie graduated with a masters degree in education a few weeks ago. The plan was to make her something as a gift.
I started sewing her a dress last month, well sort of. I cut it out and then it sat in the to-do bin.
Simplicity 1417 is a really cute peplum sheath dress that I knew she would like. The dress was cut from a really cool two-tone stretch denim purchased back in my college days. It is navy with a pink undertone. Barely having enough, some of the pieces were cut from a botched pair of pants I made out of the fabric.
Before the dress was finished I was inspired to weave her a sash. I’m really falling in love with supplementary warp pattern weaving. It is lithuanian tradition to weave sashes to give away as gifts. The old sashes would be long enough to wrap around the waist. My weaving buddy helped me to draft a pattern for a short sash with my sister’s name and graduation year.
I chose to use a colorway inspired by a painting me and Melanie did together. The colors are very non-traditional for this type of weaving. My friend says it has an African vibe. It didn’t take me long to veer off the beaten path.
Anyhow, I love how it turned out. The sash made for a truly unique gift.
Now for the dress. I did finally finish and she likes it! Other than a minor alteration needed to take in the back princess seam this pattern was sewn straight out of the envelope without a fuss.
I want to make this dress again for sure.
Traditions in Cloth 
Awesome! I want to learn how to weave! It looks cool. Is very time consuming?