Hmm, maybe I'm being a bit harsh on this poor dress. Look at my grumpy face!
It actually looks pretty nice on but it was a whole world of pain to make.
I bought the Burda Handbook after seeing Casey's lovely dress from it. I had been looking for a simple boat neck summer dress, ideally striped, and I thought this would fit the bill! The whole aesthetic of the book is about making your own variations of their simple patterns and I was so inspired I dived (dove?) straight in! I decided to leave out the contrast bands and use the basic shape of the dress, but as I wanted a boat neck, I traced the Colette Peony pattern neckline.
After working on the bodice toile for a few days and doing my usual length adjustments (2.5" on the bodice, 3" on the skirt) and tweaking the princess seams I was ready to cut. I chose a striped seersucker in shade of blue (I almost bought a similar fabric with a colourway called "Crystal Meth" - interesting naming there, Fabricland!) as I wanted to try playing with cutting the stripes in different directions. Pattern specified 4.5m of fabric, which seemed like a lot (my as yet unblogged circle dress used less, but I thought I'd be cautious! I think it actually used about 3m of what I bought, so I have a lot left over)
It was originally going to be called the Opening Ceremony dress as I cut it out in a spirit of optimism during the Olympic Opening Ceremony. But disaster was looming!
The bodice came together well, despite the usual Burda odd instructions that don't match the item you are making! Fabric was fraying quite badly and seemed to be stretching slightly more than I had expected since there was no apparent stretch in it. But it was OK.
Skirt was attached and that was where the main problems started. Not sure that cutting the skirt with horizontal stripes was the most flattering option, or the gathers at the side of the skirt which make my hips look huge, but I ploughed on!
I have never had a problem with an invisible zip before but this was was a biggie! I put the zip in to discover the back neckline was an odd shape and hung out at the back. Possibly neckline darts would have been an easier solution but hindsight is a wonderful thing! Unpicked the zip, took out the excess fabric and reattached the zip. Which wouldn't do up. So I took it out again and put it back in. By this time, the fraying fabric was shredded and the zip still wouldn't do up. I then broke it trying!
Another zip was purchased and finally went in OK. Managed to cover up most of the shredded bits by taking it in a bit at the centre back and all was well.
But why the belt you may ask? By the time the hem was finished, the bodice of the dress seemed to have stretched in length and so was a bit too long (and dropped waists are not my best shape).
In addition:
I trimmed the waist seam allowance with pinking shears and cut into the fabric of the dress! On both sides. Which the belt covers up.
So it is definitely the Disaster dress. Or maybe the Perseverance dress!
However I did learn lots - moving away from a patterns and making changes to get the style the way I want it, more fitting experience, paying closer attention to fabric choice, covering up mistakes. And I got some good practice in with the seam ripper too!
If you aren't too sick of working on the dress (or maybe come back to it later) you could cut the skirt part off of the dress and reattach it higher up so that it covers up the part of the bodice that you clipped with the pinking shears. This would also help solve the dropped waist issue. I love the direction on the stripes! Glad you persevered!
ReplyDeleteI did think about that but I couldn't face it at the time! i think what stopped me was that i would have to take out the zip yet again and i was not confident in my ability to get it reattached! i also quite like how it looks with the belt. thanks so much!
DeleteCutting into the dress on accident when trimming seams is one of my biggest fears! Your mending looks great though.
ReplyDeletethanks! i will be much more careful next time. the fabric is so thin that i didn't notice another layer between the scissors!
DeleteGood for you for keeping with it. I would have lost my temper and tossed it (not the best method 8-D). If you have enough fabric, you could buy one of those belt kits and make one to match the dress.
ReplyDeleteThe dress does look nice, but take off the grumpy face. 8-)
thanks elle. good advice! i have a ton of farbic - probably enough for a whole other dress (or at least enough for a matching one for the small person!)
DeleteYou know your perseverance is inspiring! But I also recognise the cathartic nature of being able to blog about your journey....it's really important to recognise when it has been challenging I think and for you to get to the end with a dress that you can look so good in....despite its flaws ( that only really you know about) , there's the achievement.
ReplyDeleteoh bless you - thanks very much! i have worn it a few times already so it was worth it in the end (and i have learnt that little bit more!)
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