Project diary: Sarai’s bright silk Rue

I definitely wanted to make both versions of Rue, since I love the big pleats on the fuller skirt, but slimmer skirts are more of my everyday style.

Finding the fabric

I definitely spend too much time window shopping for fabric online. I collect so many ideas on Pinterest, it can be a little overwhelming sometimes. When will I have the time to make all these pretty things in my head?

But then, the idea hoarding sometimes comes through for me! In this case, I’d had this gorgeous brightly colored silk from the 1960s in my Etsy favorites for quite a while. When I went back to look through them, I knew instantly what I wanted to make Rue version 2 out of.

The fabric is crisp, like a lightweight dupioni. The color is insanely vibrant, in the way only silk can be. It grabs attention, that’s for sure. I love the combination of hot pink, wine, and olive green. I am really into jewel tones this fall.

The lining is a crisp cotton voile.

My Changes and details

This one didn’t have many changes made to it.

• Interfacing the waist panels. On this one, I decided to interface the waist simply because the fabric is so light and crisp. Fabrics that are lightweight but have a lot of body can sometimes get the crinkled, papery look, so I wanted to give it a little more structure. I didn’t want a wrinkly waist on such a structured dress. This wouldn’t be necessary with a medium weight fabric.

I guess that was it! I really didn’t do much to this one. Again, I cut a size 4.

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