Friends, working on this dress had me craving a serious margarita. I didn't even post this on the Sew Weekly due to my "meh" feelings about it.
Fabric: Some lovely opaque gold and "margarita" green gingham curtain material from Textile Discount Outlet
Time: 6-8 hours
Version B of this pattern is a sleeveless dress, but I don't do well with sleeveless. I prefer sleeves any day, and since I stayed up until 12:30am putting these together, they were staying on. I also lengthened each tier of the skirt by three inches in order to make sure the hem did not hit me mid-thigh.
Friends, I had such high hopes for this dress. Off the hanger, it looks amazing. The fabric shines and shimmers, the ruffles stand at attention and spin beautifully, and the sleeves are intricate and fun.
Once I put it on, though, we got all kinds of problems... like the inability to bend over without having a wardrobe malfunction.
It's also extremely baggy up on top. I don't think the wardrobe malfunctions would be nearly as common if it fit my shape a bit better. I think I should have looked more closely at the pattern envelope - it looks a bit loose on the model, but I had no idea HOW loose.
To put it mildly, Rob is not a fan, even though it does spin so pretty.
"It has a square baggy shape on top and a triangle on bottom. You typically look best in a dress that accentuates your hourglass shape. If you didn't have the fabric belt, it would be entirely too boxy."
Friends, I have to agree.
The picture below basically outlines the issues Rob had with the dress. It doesn't flatter my torso and it makes my hips look larger than normal. I think that might come from not ironing this dress AT ALL and just hurrying to be done with it, but even so, I like the skirt portion even if I am not wild about the top. I like form fitting but I thought I would give this pattern a try. I was lured in by the skirt - it's the skirt's fault.
To be truthful, he also made the point that the sleeves don't really work for this dress. I can see now why this dress works better sleeveless as it lets the skirt have the spotlight - when I look at it now, I almost don't know where to look. There is no one focal point, when the focus should really be on the fabric. The style might be too busy for the fabric I chose.
The fabric is so pretty, but in the end there was barely enough for this dress. The middle layer of the skirt is pieced together rather poorly in the back. Because of the drape of the fabric, you can't really notice it, and it's well hidden under the top tier. I had originally planned on making a vintage Butterick ballgown, but no matter how I laid the pieces, it just wasn't going to work.
A close up of the sleeves. The sleeves are great, the skirt is great, but when combined with the lackluster top, I guess I am not so in love with this dress.
So here is my game plan for fixing this dress into a piece I love:
- Stitch the front closed. I like covering my bosoms
- Detach the skirt, add more pleating in the back, take in side seams
- Put skirt back on, but open left side seam for a zipper
- Find gold fabric and make a wider fabric belt
Friends, have you ever made something that you loved the different parts of it, but hated it when it was all put together? This might be my first time in that kind of situation and I am trying to wrap my head around it.
I am off to get a much needed margarita :) Have a great night all!