Sew Stylish...

Here it is, the Sew Stylish dress. I've seen a lot of these dresses on various blogs and on Pattern Review, and I have to say, it's a great dress. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I wore it to work today for the first time and I got lots of compliments. It was comfortable and fun, and I just really enjoyed wearing it.

What do I like about this pattern? Well, first of all, the V neck is modest. It shows just enough skin to be stylish, but not enough to be embarrassing. The straps are wide and I can wear my favorite bra with it. I like the empire waist, and the wide sash that keeps it from looking like a maternity dress.

I used a drapey twill print for this dress. I'm not sure what the fiber content is. It's been lying around in my stash for at least a couple of years. It's kind of heavy, though. I almost wish I had used a challis and saved this for a fall or winter dress, but it's okay. I did, however, break two needles while sewing this. One broke while I was putting in the zipper. You have to sew through quite a bit of fabric when you get to the sash and the empire seam.

Here's the dress with the sweater I bought to go with it. I like to keep my arms covered at work.

I cut a size 16 in the bodice, and since the skirt is rather full, I just kept it to a 16 all the way down. It fit just fine. I did a FBA, but I didn't add any length through the center front. I wanted the center front seam to lay flat against my chest, and I certainly didn't want any gaping. It worked out great.

Stay tuned for an update on Simplicity 3874. The muslin is done, at least enough to check the fit, but the project wasn't as successful as I'd hoped. Pictures and commentary coming soon....