Sweater knit skater dresses

It's been a while, yeah?  Between a busy teaching quarter, broken sewing machine, and a newfound obsession with knitting, I haven't been sewing as much as usual.  Which isn't to say I haven't been sewing (there will be several upcoming posts of my past garments), it's just slowed down a bit.  It's actually a little ironic, since I made a loose "resolution" to not purchase any clothing that I could sew (which is *almost* everything) for the year. 

Anyhow, for my winter work attire, I thought some sweater dresses would be useful.  I absolutely fell in L<3VE with these jacquard sweater knits from Hamburger Liebe (navy & pumpkin and wine & pink fabric, purchased at L'oiseau Fabrics) and a skater dress felt like a good way to showcase them.  Both fabric are the same type of knit and both are thick and lovely, with good drape but not too heavy.  They wash beautifully, too! 

I made the navy & pumpkin one first.  It works well with tights and boots, and I have a cropped cardigan that I wear when it's chilly (which is always in my teaching lab). 

Here's a closer view of the fabric.  Isn't that pattern the best?  And the colors?  Faves.

Both dresses were sewn using the same pattern, a personalized version of the Bronx dress from SBCC.  I've used this pattern a ton and just love the simple, yet flattering shape of the fit and flare.  It's pretty ideal for work and non-work.  

The second version feels a little "flashier" with the bold herringbone geometric, but I love it just the same.  

I did my best to match up the vertical lines at the waist seam, but the same is curved on the skirt, so it's a bit sketchy toward the side seams.

Since the hems aren't really stretched much when wearing, I went ahead and sewed a straight stitch, which worked just fine.  I definitely didn't feel like busting out my coverstitch machine for these quick projects.  

While the fabric has some stretch, it's not quite enough to use like a rib knit, so I topstitched the neck band, to ensure it would lay flat.  

Alas, no pockets on either dress.  They are definitely missed, but it would just be way too bulky/ lumpy.  Trade-offs!

Another Lola (this one is even better!)

Yes, the day after I made the first Lola, I went ahead and made a second.  I had some "spare" fabric lying around and couldn't resist!

The first version was a bit big at the waistline and middle back, so I altered the pattern to take in all of the princess seams above and below the waistline by about 1/4", tapering out to the original line about 3" below the waistline.  I also lowered the armscye by about 1/2".  The new fit feels and looks better, and I can still wiggle into it without any closures!  Oh, I also shortened the length of the dress by about 1", and then increased the width of the ribbing just for fun.

So this fabric!  It's quilted knit, (my color is no longer available, but this is the same fabric) with a bit of batting in between the two layers.  It's amazingly soft and warm, and really, it just feels like I'm wearing a comfy sleeping bag.  Admittedly, it kind of looks like I'm wearing a sleeping bag, but I'm kind of okay with that!

I am constantly cold, and it's just so cozy!  I could seriously live and sleep in this garment.

The quilting is so lovely!

The topstitching for each seam is really apparent on this fabric, and I think it adds a really beautiful detail.

This new version took a total of 1.5 hours to sew, so it's a quick and easy way to make an outfit, but I think a third version of this same style might be a little over-kill.  That being said, I'm not promising a version 3.0 won't happen :)