Knit Dress Extravaganza

It has been a crazy week around here with very little time for sewing, or anything else "fun" for that matter. I'm right in the middle of my night shift stint, so I haven't stitched a thing on Nan's Garden. I hope to remedy that tonight while all the kids are getting ready for bed and I'm winding down for the evening.



The one bright sewing spot of the week is that I was able to slap together a muslin of Vogue 8685.

I'm making the view pictured on the model: Short sleeves and slim, short skirt. The good news is that the fit was pretty good right out of the envelope. (Yeah- I was surprised, too!) The only real fitting adjustments I'll need to make are length. I need more. Lots more. I just have to decide where to put it to keep the nice proportions of the bodice/midriff band/hip yoke/skirt. But once I decide how I'm going to go about it, length adjustments are super easy to make, so I'm pretty excited about this dress. I hope to have a finished version to share soon.

I also managed to trace this beauty from Burda Style August 2010, Dress #140:


This is a plus size dress, and after the success I had with that other Burda plus size dress (BS 01-2011-133) I decided to jump right in. I traced a 44 from shoulder to hip and a 46 at the hip. Then I graded the bodice down to a 42. I figured that was easier than trying to make the 44 smaller like I did on the last dress. I also raised that neckline 1" at CF. Check out the model photo- that neckline is scandalous, even for Burda. I could never wear that to work (especially with a necklace hanging right down in the V, drawing extra attention to it!) Seriously, though, I think the dress is too big on the model through the bodice. Check out where the shoulder seams are on her.

I'm hoping that by grading down a size and rasing that CF, I'll alleviate the worst of the plunge. I also plan to finish the neckline with clear elastic and topstitching rather than the facings the pattern calls for. I'm hoping the elastic will snug that neckline up a bit also. We shall see....

I'm all excited because Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday, March 13th! We'll have an extra hour of daylight everyday, which is great for taking photos of projects after work and not having to wait until the weekend. By the time my night shift stint ends, we'll have nice long afternoons and well lit evenings! It's finally going to really feel like spring! Happy Sewing!