Barbara's Sewing Room: Blog #4 - Chicago Wardrobe & Inari Dresses

I have a love affair with the Inari Tee Dress by Named. I love this dress. While I’m not always sure it is flattering on me; I always feel fashionable, comfortable and just good when I wear an Inari dress. The first picture is of me wearing one of the first Inari dresses I’ve made. Isn’t it cute?! This is a grey & black stripe Ponte knit, and I’m posing on the street our apartment building is on in Chicago. (Oh yes, you’ll see that I’m now obsessed with straw hats since we’ve moved to South Carolina.)

This is the Inari Tee Dress pattern by Named if you are not familiar with it. Suggested fabrics include both woven and knit fabrics.

For my Chicago wardrobe, I decided to sew up three new Inari dresses to go along with several existing ones. Can you tell by this blog and my last one that I love a good TNT pattern?! I did this when buying ready to wear garments in the past too. I find something I love and buy it (or sew it) in several colors or fabrics.

The fabric I decided to use from my stash included (shown top to bottom) a stretch velvet from StyleMaker Fabrics, a stripe Ponte knit from Oak Fabrics in Chicago, and a large scale floral Liverpool knit from Fabric.com. I enjoy all three of these fabric types. I have discovered that wearing stretch velvet is comfortable if in a style that isn’t too tight. At least for me or I’ll get too overheated. A mid-weight Ponte knit is one of my favorite fabrics. And this Liverpool knit is a dream. Lightweight, cool, and breathable.

In the first picture below are the first two new ones completed. And in the second picture, three existing Inari dresses are in between these two and the new velvet one. I can't wait to wear the velvet one for dinner out in Chicago!