Finished: Peony Wearable Muslin

I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago but I am struggling (even more than usual) to get pictures for the blog when it's getting so dark in the evenings.  This morning I had to drag hubby out of bed early to take these pictures (that went down well!).  Such is the seasonal curse of the UK.

I really like this dress!  I love a boat neckline and the shape of the skirt works well on me.  I wish I had finished it earlier so I could wear it in the summer as it was always intended to be a summer dress, but got bumped down my sewing queue by the Macaron sewalong.    I have been wearing it with tights and boots as pictured but cotton + tights = riding up.  I may actually go back and line the skirt so I can wear it over winter.  It looks very cute with my red cardigan!

I made quite a few changes to the pattern.  As usual, I added quite a bit to the length - 2.5" to the bodice and 3" to the skirt.  I played about with the waist dart length when I lengthened the bodice but I think they have ended up about 1" too long, so I will be shortening them for the final version.  After I had so many issues with the waist fit of the Macaron, I decided to add about 1/2" to each side seam at the waist just in case.  I was glad to see that Rachel at House of Pinheiro does this too!  I didn't need as much ease as this but it was good to have it.

I added piping at the waist as I wasn't sure about the belt - i wanted something to break up the dress though.  And I do love piping!  Learning from my Macaron problems, I swapped out the invisible zip for a normal zip, as I don't think invisible ones work well with piping - to have the fabric sewn that close to the teeth of the zip combined with having to get over the extra piping fabric (even though I trimmed the cord inside short) doesn't work well!  And the piping looks fab on this dress - I managed to sew closer to the cord this time and i think the "tighter" finish looks better).

I finished all inside seams with a clean finish and bound the waist seam with red bias binding from the piping.  I did the same finish on the armscye (ooh, i just used the word armscye - I must be getting  better at this sewing lark!) as on the Macaron - I graded the seam (with the shorter side against the sleeve) and folded the longer seam allowance over the shorter and stiched.  Not sure if this is an orthodox way of finishing but it looks OK and I haven't found an easier way on such curved seams.  Anyone got any suggestions?

For the next version, I will be making a few more changes.  I will shorten the waist darts as above to stop the "nipple-y" look.  I think I need a wide shoulder adjustment.  I just discovered this while working on my Anise jacket muslin and it made a big difference to the tightness under the arms I often have.  Also by looking at it, you can see the shoulders could be wider.  I think the sleeves will be a bit looser once I sort this out.

The final version will be in a teal suiting and I am going to do the long sleeved version.  I might do the belt in a fuschia but I haven't decided yet!  Got to finish my Anise first (more on that shortly)!