I'm not thrilled with this dress. Now, I remember why I prefer wovens over knits. Knits don't press well. They stretch and move on their own when you're trying to cut them. Knits are like naughty children. They turn out fine in the end, but they require a little extra watching. They can't be trusted.Let's deconstruct this dress.
I liked the print on the bolt in the store. But, it's a little busy on me. I interfaced the facing with what I thought was a fusible knit tricot interfacing. But, it didn't stretch at all once it was fused to the fabric. Somehow, the facing ended up about 1 1/2 inch shorter than the front when I pinned them together. The length difference didn't go away with easing. Lucky for me, the print is so busy you can't really see the resulting puckers in the front. Usually, I avoid belted dresses because I don't have a waist. I let my waist "zone" see the belt, hoping it would get the idea and magically turn into a waist "line" when I put it on. No such luck. But, without the belt, the dress looked frumpy. I couldn't win. I'm the one woman on the earth who can't wear wrap dresses.
Now the positive: Several of my last BWOF projects used a narrow zig-zag or rolled hem finish. First, I basted to mark the hemline. Then I pressed up the hem allowance as well as I could; knits being so hard to press, and all.
I used wooly nylon to serge the rolled hem along the fold. The final step was to trim away the allowance.
It's a nice enough hem treatment. It gives a little lettuce edge flounce to the hemline. I like this dress from the hips down. It's the only part of the dress I actually like. The little flounce at the hem is the reason.
The old folks say, "Nothing beats a try but a failure". Well, this "try" was beaten senseless by "failure". Oprah says, "What are you supposed to learn from this experience?" I learned: You can't hit one out of the park every time you're at bat. I'm going to hang this in the closet and move on the the next project and not look back.
ETA: When my daughter saw me in this dress, she said she liked it -- and she rarely compliments me. Go figure!
I don't blame your daughter, that is a great dress! I love the fabric!
ReplyDeleteI like the dress, and the fabric is nice. How about if you wear it with a jacket over it. I have not much of a waist either, but I can wear a wrap dress. Atleast the last time I wore a wrap dress was 2summers ago. Weight gained and lost and gained again. Starting to lose again and lose is what I'll continue to do. LOL Don't hide the dress, wear it with pride and joy.
ReplyDeleteI like the dress.. I understand about the waist thing -- I don't have one either. LOL
ReplyDeleteWell, I like it, too. I think the print is good and you don't have to wear the belt with it at all. A little jacket or cardigan over the top of it might help, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree with your daughter - it does look nice! Don't put it in the back of the closet yet! : )
ReplyDeleteI agree with your daughter too, the dress is lovely. I like it so much that I am going to make one based on what I saw here. If you are worried about the waist thing, then maybe you might want to try a contrasting belt. Personally I think the waist belt might be a bit high on you, but it is hard to tell from the photo. There is a new show on called Eli Stone. The secretary is the wife of the DR on Gray's Anatomy. You should check out the show for her wardrobe. She is a plus sized gal, but they did a great job of defining a waist for her. Mainly they did with a small contrasting belt, but the illusion worked! HTH
ReplyDeleteElaray - the small contrasting belt is what I thought of too when I looked at the dress...then I would definitely add a jacket to give you a longer silhouette. You are brave...because I don't own a knit wrap dress for this reason...no waist! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't found a wrap or anything else with a belt that would give me a waist either. Actually Elaray, I do like the print on you. The belt does fall to your smallest area, it just looks like an empire. Which is in style, so go with it. Tricot interfacing has a stretchy direction and a non-stretchy direction. You may have cut it going the non-stretchy way.
ReplyDelete~Sherril~
Love the fabric and love the dress on you! Although the print is busy, as you mentioned, it is a very monotone earthy tone and not at all 'loud' and screaming at every passerby.
ReplyDeleteThe fit is very nice. Enjoy it.
Elaray - I really like the dress on you. I don't think the fabric looks too busy, but I think you're not used to such a "busy" fabric since you seem to prefer (as I do ) solids. I think the wrap does give you a waistline, but I can only go by the picture you posted. You may feel more comfortable with a jacket with the dress, but really, it looks just fine the way it is. Wear it a few times and I think it will "grow" on you.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree with you. I don't think it is flattering. I suppose it could just be the photo, but you look like a perfect cylindrical column in that dress to me.
ReplyDeleteNeefer
Love the wrap dress, i do think the fabric is a little busy, otherwise it look fine to me
ReplyDeleteI'm with your daughter, I like it.
ReplyDeleteI have often found facings that "shrink" when fused. if it's a long facing, like for a CF opening, it's a good idea to remember to cut it a bit longer. Of course, I almost always forget!