I had to sew this dress in small doses. I fell out of love with the dots and the fabric was silky and hard to control. The dress was not as much fun as it could have been.Pattern Description
Dress with high waist, bust pleats and sleeve pleats.
Pattern Sizing
European plus range: 44 - 52
Fabric Used
Silky polyester. The fabric was a little unruly during cut-out. I had to cut the front bodice lining twice because the fabric moved so it was impossible to line up the dart legs.
Pattern Alterations or Design Changes
I've learned it's best to raise the necklines in most Burda Style patterns. I raised the neckline one inch.
Construction
The bodice front is underlined. I used self-fabric as the underlining. Because the fabric was so slippery, I used a walking foot to keep the fabric together and prevent the top layer from "growing". My walking foot is my most underused and under appreciated foot. There have been times when I should have used it, but I didn't consider or even remember it.
To install the zipper, I used a technique found in 10-20-30 Minutes to Sew (Nancy Zieman, 1992) The technique in the book uses a conventional zipper, but it works just as well with an invisible zipper. Using this method, the facing is sewn to the zipper tape by machine rather than by hand. It's a good looking finish.
The sleeve is finished with a bias band. Since the fabric was so slippery, I basted rather than pinned the band in place. The result was a neatly sewn narrow band.
The bust pleats are a little funky. They provide ease in the bust area that I don't need. I looked at another review for this dress on Pattern Review. One of us had our pleats going in the wrong direction. I won't say which one of us had the pleats going in the wrong direction, but I will say the other sewer didn't appear to have the same bust funkiness I had.
Dare I say it? Making a muslin would have shown this to me. But I wouldn't have known how to adjust it anyway, so why bother? (Bad attitude. I know.)
ConclusionThis dress is not one of my favorites. I like the silhouette, but once again, I could have made a different fabric choice. The weight of the fabric is appropriate for the pattern. It's light weight for summer, but the color says fall.
Eleray
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. I m so glad you made this. I was considering the pattern but unsure. Thanks for sharing and wear it. The dress is beautiful.on yiu.
Too bad you're not in love with this dress, because it looks very good on you. It sounds like the fabric was a bit of a challenge to work with, but you did a great job with the sleeve bands. I wouldn't worry about the bust pleats being funky. They look just fine!
ReplyDeleteIt looks good. Put it in the back of the closet for a couple of weeks. It will grow on you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the colour sentiments (but I'm not a good one to ask as I don't wear brown at all). I love the dress on you. It looks really lovely and the effort into the binding was really worth it.
ReplyDeleteGee, that looks great on you. I hope it grows on you, because that looks really nice.
ReplyDeleteOh, let this dress grow on you, I really like how it looks on you. Also, you should be very proud of yourself for pushing through to complete this.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think it looks good! But if you have too much ease with the bust pleats, what about sewing them down so that they are more like tucks? or would that make it worse? hmmmm... but the overall dress shape and neckline looks very flattering and fits well overall.
ReplyDeleteGreat dress and I agree: perfect for summer and can easily be worn in the fall. You were a trooper dealing with fabric challenges. I recently purchased the book you mentioned by Nancy Z. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely dress. Shame you are not 100% keen on it. Looks great on you.
ReplyDeleteYour dress is beautiful!
ReplyDelete