The Teacup Dress

I've had this Rowan teacup fabric for ages, and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Eventually I decided that another little tunic dress was the answer.

This time I've made a matching or contrasting waist... thing, to go with it.
I'm not sure whether it's a belt, an obi, a cummerbund, a sash, or what. What would you call it?

Whatever it's called, it's pleated on one side and plain on the other. The plain side is made from the same fabric as the dress. The pleated side and the tie ends are made from plain organic cotton.

The organic cotton was absolutely lovely to work with. I steamed any shrinkage out of it before I started, but it kept its shape really well. It takes creases beautifully, and generally behaves itself.

The Rowan teacup fabric is much softer, but I was quite cross to discover that the print isn't properly lined up with the grain of the fabric. As you can see, I chose to go with the grain so that the dress would hang nicely, but this does sadly leave the print looking a bit wonky. Perhaps I should have gone with the print instead.