Graduation Dress

Last week I had my Bachelor degree ceremony. Officially I’ve had my degree for a while, and I’ve already started my Master’s level, but due to an endless stream of paperwork, and lots of stuff that needed to be organized, it took until now to have the official ceremony. Now I’m not entirely sure how this is in other countries, but getting your academic bachelor is a Big Thing over here.

The ceremony itself turned out pretty neat. There were lots of my (former) teachers, who know me quite well personally, as well as one of my closest friends at uni, who was in exactly the same boat as I. I got to talk about my research in front of an audience and a giant microphone stand which clearly was not made for people with gnome ancestry, and everything always feels a lot more official and celebrative when you get it printed on fancy paper and wrapped in a silver-coloured cylinder (I suggested a cylinder of pure wool to wrap the master’s degree in, we’ll see what they’ll do with my advice).

I have to admit that beforehand I wasn’t really feeling it, partly because in general I’m just not really into such formal things, but mostly because I guess I’m already a bit past that moment. I felt a huge burst of happiness the moment I knew that I had my degree, but because I’ve already moved on with other studies, a ceremony seemed slightly redundant. So to pump myself up for the event I did what I often do; making something for myself to wear.

I started brainstorming as to what I wanted a week or two before the date, so that, in true procrastination style, I started the weekend before and had to force myself to finish it in two days.  My main criterion was that I wanted the dress to reflect me; something that would be in line with the type of clothing that I wear.  I debated which pattern the use for a while, and in the end made another version of the Seda dress. I was in two minds about it at first, because there is also a part of me that just wants to try as many new patterns as I can, as I still have so much to learn in sewing. But there is also a lot to be said of the advantages about finding and subsequently sewing up many versions of dresses that tick all the boxes. Then I pictured Seda with a floral main fabric, combined with a neutral yoke. I really couldn’t get the image out of my head. Another pro of this route was that, because I was pressed for time, it was a good move to go with something which I knew was going to fit me well. The Seda dress I made for Christmas fits me exceptionally well, just out of the envelope. So with that in mind I started cutting the fabric for this one. Because I had made it before the process was really speedy, and I finished it without a moment of stress.

The fabric used for this dress is cotton poplin. For my previous Seda the main fabric was heavy and thick, as I made it with winter in mind. The poplin used for this dress is a lot lighter, and transforms the feeling of the dress. I’m very chuffed about the bias tape, which I made from the neutral fabric. I’m now considering whether a bias foot is a good investment, does anyone of you have experience with one?

 I’m very happy with the finished dress. It feels very ‘me’, and when I finished it I basically couldn’t wait to put it on, and was sad(-ish) to have to wait until the end of the week to wear it. I guess this is a pretty good indicator to whether the project is a success or not. Aside from simply how the dress looks, I think the construction of this dress is the best I’ve done so far, and after having to spend frustratingly long weeks on another (yet unblogged) dress, it felt really good to be able to follow that up with a speedy project. We took these photo’s on the way back home from the ceremony, so that explains the somewhat jubilate mood in some of these pictures.

I cannot promise this is going to be the last Seda dress. The pattern is just so versatile, it suits me very well. I have to confess that I’ve already been thinking up different fabric and colour combination, but I’m first going to explore some different waters before returning to this one.

This project has really motivated me to make a list of sewing projects that I want to make soon. I felt so happy and proud when I stepped up on that platform to get my degree in my self made dress. Not pictured are the knitted cardigan and shawl I wore when I was there, so my outfit was (almost) completely handmade. This doesn’t happen all to often: I mean, I wear my knitted projects all the time, but this is a whole new level for me, and it made me feel chuffed. I have a tendency to wait for special occasions as an excuse to sew something (case in point), but I’m now looking forward to start sewing more and more everyday wear clothing.

I hope my next blogpost will follow at a shorter interval. I do notice that the better weather and longer light make it easier for me to take project pictures when needed, even though we’ve had snow (!) and extremely low temperatures this week. Although I do worry about the climate, it was a good excuse to bring out ALL the knitwear again! I hope the weather is treating all of you well,