BS 02-2011-101 Summer Frock #1

So I teased a bit the other day when I asked what you get when you cross the February issue of Burda Style with a cute cotton print and some white rick rack. The answer is a new summer dress.

This is dress #101 from the "Mama Mia" pictorial.

Here is the full front:

And the tech drawings:

This is a super easy 2 dot pattern. There are only two pattern pieces to trace! That's right- just two. The skirt pieces are just rectangles. I just measured the length and tore my fabric.

Construction was easy. I lined the whole bodice using the same bodice pieces, and used an invisible zip on the left side. (I'm loving these patterns with cut on sleeves!)

My fabric is a cotton print from stash, which I jazzed up a little bit by adding rick rack to the neckline and sleeves. I used white broadcloth for the lining.

This was actually supposed to be my muslin. I made a "quick and dirty" muslin of just the bodice to check the neckline out (more on that in a sec) and then I decided to go ahead and make the full dress out of this fabric. Since I was relatively sure the dress would fit, I decided to forge ahead with the intent to make it wearable.

I started the test bodice with a straight size 44, which turned out too big through the shoulders. No surprise there. The neckline was also way too open. After making the test bodice, I also decided to add 1 and 5/8" of length to the bodice pieces. The tech drawing shows an ever so slight dropped waist and I needed extra length to get the same effect. Or so I thought...

The neckline on this thing is huge. I've had issues with wide/low necklines on Burda patterns before and I did not want to end up stuffing this dress in the back of the closet because of it. For this version I decided to retrace the pattern (all two pieces of it) using the size 42 lines through the neck and shoulders and grading out to the 44 at the bust. I also added a 1" seam allowance all the way around the neck. I only ended up using 1/4" of it. In other words, I brought the neckline in 3/4" all the way around. With the rick rack taken into consideration, it's about 7/8".

The neckline is still just barely wearable for me. I can wear a regular bra under this, but just barely. I also have to be careful about bending over- the neck gapes if I slump.

I basted the skirt on and decided that the extra length I added to my pattern was unneccessary. I went back and removed the skirt and trimmed off 1 and 5/8", plus an additional 3/8" across the back between the darts, tapering to nothing at the sides (for my good old sway back.) I think this looks more flattering with the waist seam closer to my natural waist.

It's a cute summer dress. The pattern is nice because of it's simplicity. The magazine shows it made up in organza with taffeta appliques. You can make a very casual dress or a very dressy dress depending on what fabric you use- anything from cotton or linen, to satin or silk dupioni.

The construction is easy and the dress makes up in no time flat. I like the look- the dress has a nice retro vibe, and I have some ideas for embellishments, but I don't know if I'll make it again. I'd definitely have to work on that neckline some more.

I do recommend the pattern if you like the look, but definitely make a muslin. If I hadn't added the extra seam allowance at the neckline this dress would be unwearable, both comfort-wise and modesty-wise.

After I finished this dress, I whipped up a muslin of New Look 6723 and got great results. Stay tuned for a report- it may just turn out to be my go-to summer dress!