ZW Gather Dress made with Deep Ultramarine Signature Finish Midweight Linen

As a millennial, I’m in a constant battle with my wardrobe. I’ve branched out a lot in recent years and started incorporating more color and pattern in my closet, but my comfort zone is, without a doubt, neutrals. Not so endearingly, social media has dubbed this “sad beige”. Sad or not, it’s hard sometimes to get outside of your norm in your wardrobe. I’ve also spent the last 4 years either pregnant or within the postpartum period, so that means a lot of fluctuating in weight and size, which tends to be another reason to stick to the comfort zone of my closet. 

ZW Gather Dress made with Deep Ultramarine Signature Finish Midweight Linen

Maybe it’s partly the trends changing, maybe it’s also all the bright clothes and toys that are part of the gig as a mom to girls, but I’ve been really attracted to bright, punchy colors in the recent months. A few months ago, I noticed some new color options around here from Fabrics Store, and to be honest, I find it hard to pick a favorite. From the brightness of Love Bird to the vividness of Raspberry, I’m hard pressed to find one I love above the rest. 

When I came across Deep Ultramarine, though, it was like something just jumped inside of me. I’m not usually a girl who gravitates towards a bright, powerful blue, but this time was different.  The medium weight makes it easy to dream up all kinds of makes. At first, I was thinking maybe a pair of fitted trousers with some sort of pretty bra top or crop (if you’ve read my Curated By You article, you know what’s in my head), or perhaps a classic matching set of a button up and pair of versatile elastic shorts.

ZW Gather Dress made with Deep Ultramarine Signature Finish Midweight Linen

In this season of life, I usually gravitate towards billowy dresses. Being a mom of toddlers means a lot of sleep lost – so sometimes the easiest way to ensure that you can still rest is simplifying and lowering your standards. That often translates in my life as choosing clothing that I can fall asleep in when the opportunity presents itself (maybe this is why I am so addicted to making matching button up and shorts sets!). 

After going back and forth on my options, I finally settled on the ZW Gather Dress by Birgitta Helmersson.  If you’ve been a part of this sewing community for the last few years, you’ve likely seen this silhouette. It’s one of those patterns that went viral through the community not long ago, and for good reason. If you’re not familiar, it’s a dress pattern that uses the fullness of its fabric consumption. More simply put – no scraps at all. The pattern itself is one that you use your own measurements to draft, cut, and create. 

ZW Gather Dress made with Deep Ultramarine Signature Finish Midweight Linen

The brightness of the linen against this yellow wall felt like a fun way to play with color theory. If you aren’t familiar, color theory is the study of how colors work together and how they affect our emotions and perceptions. As a former makeup artist, I still find myself connecting to artistry through my sewing practice. As soon as I finished this dress, I knew I had to find a good yellow wall to show its gorgeous contrast.