A New Twist

Remember this? BWOF 05-2008-115, the Twist Dress?

Well, I finally got mine done!

I used this cool black rayon challis with pink and green dotty swirls all over it.

When I traced this, I was fresh off of BWOF 02-2009-124, and I was really unhappy with the loose fit in the bodice of that one, so for this dress, I traced a 42 in the bodice and a 44 from the waist down. Then when I went to sew the muslin together, I came to my senses and realized a 42 wasn't going to work. So I sewed it with 1/2" seams instead of the 5/8" I had added to the pattern pieces (except for the center back seam where the invisible zip is- that one I left at 5/8"). There are 5 seams (2 side fronts, 2 side backs, and a center front) where I gained 1/4" at each seam, so that gave me 1.25" of extra circumference over all. So I guess this is really almost a 44/46. It fits just fine. Of course, I couldn't go any smaller at all, or I'd have a wardrobe malfunction!

I didn't have to make a FBA (Love you BWOF!) but I did add 1" of length at the waist- my standard long torso adjustment.

My favorite thing about this dress is the twist. It's a little different than other twist dresses because the twist is higher up on the chest, not at bustline level. That makes it safe for work or for church, and no cami or special bra needed!

The instructions were typical BWOF- confusing as all get out when read the first time, but once I started actually putting the dress together they made a lot more sense. The only unusual thing about the construction is that because of the twist, you have to attach the facings to the front of the dress and make the twist, and then attach the back facings to the back of the dress, and then you can sew front and back together, rather than putting the dress together and sewing the facings in as one piece.

But everything went together like a charm so it worked out well.

One other unique feature is that there are no "side" seams. The side back and side front are all one piece underneath the arms. But you still have four "princess" seams for shaping and the back pieces have darts as well, so you can adjust the fit pretty easily.

I doubt I'll make this one again, but I'm happy with this one and I plan to wear it a lot! And you may see this fabric again- I have just enough left to make a top!