Sewing Project: Plaid Shirtdress

More planning ... I will underline the EmmaOneSock linen with silk organza to minimize wrinkling and help maintain the crispness of this linen. I tested a 4"x4" swatch in the wash and it shrunk only very minimally (Armani quality, after all) but it softened the linen a lot. And wrinkled. It came out of the dryer in a little crinkled string bean shape. I prefer not to spend many minutes of life ironing, unless to press just-sewn seams. That feels like truly purposeful ironing. Plus this is a shirtdress. I think of shirtdresses like a shirt -- pressed and crisp, goes with tailored pieces. Softer drapey linen would be fine for a swingy wrap dress and other shapes and styles less structured.

I'm debating whether to take the linen to the dry cleaner for steaming/shrinking or whether to iron it with lots of steam myself. Not sure I trust that it really shrinks enough to eliminate future problems either way, so what does it matter. Maybe I should just trust the process. I have a hard time trusting processes that I can't see.

See, there is a benefit to having 24 boxes of stashed fabric -- I already have bronze silk organza from Thai Silks:

Except, the silk organza has been pre-washed, it's very very wrinkled, and it needs many, many minutes of ironing.