Welcome to the Jungle… one of my all time fave songs (forgive me, it’s a generational thing that I just can’t shake). That song screams in my head when I look at this dress…
Welcome to the jungle we take it day by day
If you want it you’re gonna bleed but it’s the price to pay
And you’re a very sexy girl that’s very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights but you won’t get there for free
In the jungle welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine
Ooh, I want to hear you scream *
Jungle Anna – when a good pattern goes wild…
My third Anna. I told you they were all very different didn’t I?
I honestly was hanging out to post this tomorrow – I fear I am clogging up your blog readers… but I can’t resist!! Jungle Anna was not to be contained in the draft blog post pile! She’s a wild one.
Every time I look at this Anna I think of Anne of Pretty Grievances. I hope I’ve done her proud going OTT on animal print! I swear she is the only person on God’s green earth who could have managed to convince me to sew an animal print fabric, she’s kinda irresistible is our Anne. I’m hoping I have enough chutzpah to carry this dress off!
I know, it’s not a dress for shrinking violets…
Jungle Anna – it’s a bit of a statement piece…
While I was sewing Anna Blue, I had the idea spring into my head – a snake-skin Anna Dress, a MAXI slithery snake-skin Anna… something super slinky & sinuous… the idea defies logic as I have a very real fear of snakes…
Anna can be sweetly sexy as Anna Rose, a darling day dress as Anna Blue but can she go va-va-voom?
Jungle Anna – there’s that wild thigh slit… I finished it a little higher than Anna Roses… cos Jungle Anna is a wild girl… the only thing I don’t like about this dress is how light the fabric is on the reverse (underlining it would have ruined its slithery drape – I will just need to be ladylike and not strut quite so much…)
This time I interfaced the neck facing pieces. I wanted to see how it would sit with a firmer facing piece behind that slash neck. It does sit nicely, albeit with a tiny bit of a ripple – which I think is more about my scrawny upper body than the pattern. *sigh* when will I ever grow a proper body?… I think the interfacing has also make the slash much more of a V-neck. I actually prefer the softness of the Anna Rose’s neckline, even if it does flip out a little, although I think the severity of the V-neck suits this Anna dress. She’s not a ‘softly softly’ kinda gal. I am Jungle Anna – hear me ROAR! lol.
Jungle Anna – slash neckline (bra strap popping off the shoulder – Jungle Anna is no dainty miss…)
Yet again, another fabric from Lincraft. They have a small selection of rayons – almost all animal print though these days! I love these rayons, they have drape beautifully but have the comfort of cotton.
Once again I put in neck darts, on both the back bodice and facing pieces. They sit about two inches in – three inches long from the raw edges to the dart tip - and I also put these on the facing pieces.
Everything is French seamed with the exception of the front slit seam.
Rather than folding the fabric in half and cutting out the pieces, I cut out everything flat (except the front bodice and front neck facing). I did this to ensure the black line of the print ran up each skirt panel towards my waist. I think it makes the dress look darker, moodier and more dramatic. Yes it took much longer but I think it was worth it. With such a busy print, pattern matching wasn’t realistic however the line does run from the centre of the slash neckline to the hem – I think that’s enough!
Jungle Anna – the back view
Note I’m only 5 foot 4 – so if you are a shortie like me – you can carry off a maxi – stop thinking you can’t (Note to self: you are being bossy again).
Oh yes, and there are legs aplenty…
Jungle Anna – hanging around waiting for Tarzan… or feeling slightly concerned there might be a creepy crawly under my foot… eek…
I did a lot of hand sewing with this one. Being a rayon like Anna Rose, I invested the time to hand sew that long long slit, the facing to the shoulders and also the hem. So the dress slithers along beautifully – as it should!
Just hanging around in the jungle with my Anna.
I think this would look great teamed with a cropped, fitted, weather-beaten denim jacket. Or a fitted grungy black jacket… She’s not the prim sort – she’s my wild girl Anna.
So there you have it – the three faces of Anna… I have no doubt I will discover many more aspects of Anna – after all… we are BFFs remember… Anna Rose, Anna Blue and Jungle Anna.
I’m thinking it should be The August of Anna – why not farewell your summer in style or get ready for a sultry summer… I know you want to… heck I might even make another if you do! The By Hand London girls say there will be a sewalong soon!
Have you seen Karen of Did You Make That? she looks smashing in her maxi Anna. It’s gorgeous!
Pattern: Anna from By Hand London (Aussies can get it from Sew Squirrel)
Fabric: Rayon from Lincraft.
Also see: Anna Rose | Anna Blue
PS. I promise the next thing I blog won’t be another Anna dress (it would be hilarious you have to admit) - it’s a Vogue dress (Miss 8 reckons I look like a Barbie doll!). Yes, I have been OTT SewBusyLizzy this week!
PPS I’m not sorry about bombarding you with all my Annas… it’s been fun!
PPS a big thank you to ELH who was very busy photographing dresses all day!
* Lyrics: Welcome to the Jungle by Axl Rose, Saul Hudson, Duff Rose McKagan, Izzy Stradlin & Steven Adler.
