I made View B, the long version, in a straight size 16.
This is a knit dress with an overlapped bodice, pleated skirt, and shoulder princess seams in back.
I decided to sacrifice this red and white knit print that I got from Hancock's a few years ago to make sure this dress was going to work for me. I'm not sure what the fiber content is, but it's very stretchy in both directions. I also wanted to check the length on this since I'll have to be sure about it before I cut into my border print. I can't just hem it higher if I don't like it! I ended up taking two inches off the length of the skirt.
If you look closely, you can see why I decided to just use fabric this for my muslin. No matter how I cut it, I was going to end up with a motif right on my boobs! I didn't worry too much about pattern matching, just kind of eye-balled and pinned, but I did purposely line up the brighter motifs to avoid the bust points. But look closely and you will see there is an "X" on each of "the girls." Overall, I'm pleased with the dress and I decided to road test it by wearing it to work today. Apparently no one noticed, but I know those "X's" are there.I pretty much made this according to the pattern instructions with just a few small changes. I altered the armholes by not scooping them out quite as much as the pattern calls for. At least two other bloggers mentioned this so I tried it and I like the way it worked out.
I added clear elastic to the neck edges and then turned them under and twin needled them. Worked like a charm.
I also gathered the bottom of the bodice instead of sewing darts. Knitmachinequeen suggested this in her review of this pattern. I think it's a great idea, but it didn't work perfectly for this dress. I tried the dart as drafted, but my fabric stretched and distorted at the dart tip, so I pulled it out and opted for this.
When I sewed the bodice to the skirt, my underbust seam stretched out terribly. It didn't help that I had changed the darts to gathers, throwing things off just a bit. It looked wonky and I got weird pull lines where the neck edges were caught into the seam. At first I thought it was going to be completely unwearable, but then I decided to just try a little experiment. I cut a piece of 1/4" elastic about a half inch shorter than the underbust seam measurement was supposed to be. I then zig-zagged the elastic to the underbust seam allowance, stretching the elastic as I sewed. I caught the ends of the elastic in the side seams. When the elastic relaxed, it drew the front back into shape evenly, and it isn't even noticeable on the outside.
Once the dress was finished enough to try it on, I decided I really like it, and I should just go ahead and finish it. So I finished the armhole edges with a twin needle and hemmed it. Considering my half hearted attempt at pattern matching, I think it turned out surprisingly well. I wore this all day today and it was cool and comfortable. The neckline didn't gape at all, even with the super stretchy fabric. I was armed with safety pins, just in case, but I held off and decided to see what would happen. There were no wardrobe malfunctions! So the pattern is a go, and I'll be cutting into my precious border print tonight!
But what do you think, Tasteful Readers? Is this version truly wearable? Considering that, as they say, "X marks the spot?"
15 comments:
I LOVE this! It is super flattering on you. BTW, I didn't notice the Xs until you mentioned it--but I had noticed that you placed the more prominent part of the print to avoid your bust. This pattern is in my pile of goodies to sew. Thank you for sharing this extremely wearable muslin! ~ Peggy
Love this! I didn't notice the xs either - and am thinking one would really have to be searching for a pattern to see that! Looks great on you!
That is SO wearable! And like the others, I wouldn't have noticed the Xs either. Lovely dress, and you look lovely in it.
LOVE this dress!! This pattern just jumped to the top of the queue. Your review is really helpful,and I like the gathers instead of darts. The x's are unfortunate, but with that fabric, I think you made the best possible choice and I don't think it's noticeable until you point it out.
It looks great! I wouldn't worry about those "Xs" since they aren't prominent at all. It would only be an issue if the other design was centered on the girls.
I made this pattern a couple of weeks ago after seeing KMQ's, but I'm still (a) debating on the hem length and (b) wanting my tummy to be flatter. ;-)
I love that dress. I think I have that pattern and I have a new border print. Gotta get busy!
I got that same rayon knit print in black from Hancock's a couple of years ago and had the same problem w/the top I made from it. I TRIED to cut it so the bust apex was between the prominent motif and the X...but there's a sort of circle thing there. Just not much of any way around it. So I wore it just the same, for a while, anyway. The pattern is so over-all that it isn't that significant, I told myself.
But I didn't feel too many regrets when it faded enough that I retired it from active duty. ;)
The dress looks great on you; perhaps a lightweight white cardigan would make you less self-conscious?
If you're really not comfortable, you can put it in the donate bag and a non-sewing person will happily wear it and never even notice the motifs. ;-)
I actually really like it. The reason people don't notice that boob thing is because the X's are washed out compared to the bright print next to it, so they just blend as if a solid color.
I do think you should shorten the dress to knee length. The fabric is too bright to be that length.
The dress looks great, I think because of the clever way you have placed the brighter part of the print on the bodice the x's aren't too noticeable - definitely wearable!
It's lovely! I only noticed the crosses after you pointed them out. I would wear it. I am keen to see this made up in a border print. I am a sucker for border prints.
I had to look for the Xs! No on will notice and i think the dress looks great on you!
I wanted this one the minute the Vogue site was updated. I'm happy with the positive reviews, esp yours.
It's just moved up the wishlist!!!
Bummer about the X's but this dress does look lovely on you!
Shannon...This is one of the most flattering dresses I've seen you make. Its perfect. The x's aren't really noticeable. I'm going to have to go out and get that pattern for myself.
This is a lovely dress! It looks great on you. Wear it lots! I loved your fix using elastic in the underbust seam. Great solution!
Post a Comment