Current fashion is all about bold, bright patterns. I am not a bold, bright pattern kind of person. But then I stumbled upon this sateen fabric in the clearance section of JoAnn's - which was on sale at 50% off! It was a big pattern, but I liked the shape and colors within it. At $3.50/yard this was a deal too good to miss, so I snapped some up. I found some coordinating purple sateen (also half off!) and a dress was born.
I wanted to make a dress with some sort of contrast neckline so I could use the purple sateen to break up the pattern and frame my face. I found what I was looking for in New Look pattern 6864.
I planned to do the criss-cross neckline with the flutter sleeves. Planning to do things right (see, this blog is holding me accountable!), I made a muslin first. The muslin dress came together super fast and easy. I'm glad I made it, too, since I discovered an error in the pattern; the front pattern image tells me to use the wrong bodice type for the dress I wanted to make. So yay, saving me time and money!
The muslin also told me I should make a smaller size than I originally planned. I made a size 12 top and a size 14 bottom.
Then things went all to hell. This quickly became a cursed project. I don't have any pictures of the sewing process because I was too busy cursing to take pictures. I sewed every seam at least twice. There were a couple of seams I sewed four times. My mom always told me that if you make two mistakes in a row you should put the project down and walk away from it for the rest of the day. Wise words. Too bad I didn't heed them.
I stumbled on, sewing, cursing, ripping, sewing again. Finally, FINALLY the dress is done. Well, I only did a small hem and could probably take it up a bit more, but that is a pretty easy fix. Here it is, the cursed dress in all its glory:
Yep, I could take it up another inch or two. Show some knee (how scandalous!). The back looks a little rumpled, but I assure you that is just the bounty that is my butt making the fabric wrinkle up. (sigh)
Would I make this pattern again? Yes, though I don't think I would do the flutter sleeves unless I had a really lightweight fabric like chiffon or something. I feel like the sleeves make my shoulders look really broad which makes my head look really small. Maybe they will relax with some washing. Thankfully, the pattern had a lot of options.
Glad the cursed project is over. Next up: zipper on the red coat!
That is a great dress. You are very good at this!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kitty! I learn new things with every project, but feel like I still have a long way to go. I am eager to see the patchwork skirt you are planning.
ReplyDeleteThe dress looks great, and kudos to you for making the muslin first (I almost never have the patience to do that) -- one thing I thought I might mention -- there was once in my life a big, hardback book published in part by the Singer corporation about altering patterns to get rid of things like "butt wrinkles." (I mostly have "boob wrinkles", myself)... I can't lay my hands on it right now, but I will say that taking the extra time at the beginning to ensure a better fit and learning the techniques of garment alteration (in case I made a mistake on adjusting the pattern) greatly increased my happiness with my end products.
ReplyDeleteYou've done an excellent job now, regardless.