Burda Style 05-2016-115 A Zigzag Dress

I am so happy to have this dress finished.  I cut it out weeks ago, but couldn't sew it until last weekend because I didn't have the right needles for the fabric.  Now, I've stocked up and I'll be sewing some knits again.

Anyway, this is dress #115 from the May issue of Burda Style.  I loved it when I first saw it and knew I would be making it.  Burda showed theirs in a  solid, which is quite lovely, but I wondered how it would look in a print.

The dress is really quite simple.  It has side seams, small darts at the shoulders, and a neckband.  The front and back overlap at the shoulders and really, there isn't much sewing to it.

I think I cut a 42 through the top and eased out to a 44 at the hip.  It was several weeks ago and my memory is foggy now.

My fabric is a chevron print jersey from Hancock's.  I bought it "on spec" a year or two ago and I decided to just go ahead and use it.  The colors are very nice- blues, greens, and purples with a little bit of black.  The scale is nice, too, and I think it worked well for this pattern.

The dress went together very easily.  In the photo below you can see a close-up of the arm opening.  I was worried about coverage- flashing the bra band under the arm.  If the front and back fall open like the model photo- the armhole gets bigger.

The key is keeping the front and back overlapped, so I hand stitched the edge of the back down.  That keeps it in place and keeps the opening pretty well closed.

The neckband was a little tricky.  It is simple enough to attach, but I ended up trimming 3 inches off the length and I still feel it could be smaller.  My fabric is pretty stretchy, so that probably was a factor.  If I make this again, and I might because I think I'd like to have the top version, I will take another inch or two off the length of the neckband strip.

This would have been a very quick project if I'd had the right needle on hand and could have sewn it up right after I cut it out.  I'm happy it's done, though, and I look forward to road testing it this week.  This will be another loose, comfortable dress for the hot summer months.

Happy sewing, and may you never run out of needles!