Finished: BSM 01-13-133B

When I was a child, shopping for a new Easter dress was an exciting event. My next door neighbor and I would show each other our new outfits. We couldn't wait to wear them to Sunday School and to see what the other girls were wearing.    When my daughter was a child, I shopped for fabric for her Easter dresses many weeks in advance.   It didn't matter that I made all of her dresses; making her Easter dress was special.

Burda Style Magazine 01-13-133

So perhaps it was a nostalgic longing that made me wake up last week and tell myself, "I'm gonna make me an Easter Dress!"  I didn't have time to shop for fabric, but I had a piece of tomato red crepe in the sewing room closet.  I searched through my Burda Index and found a suitable dress in the January 2013 issue.

The dress looks better in real life than it does in the photo below.  I used crepe which dressed up the design a little.  I like that the dress is fully lined with self fabric.  It made the crepe more substantial and the dress has an expensive feel.  I didn't have enough of the crepe on hand, so I had to make a trip to JoAnn's and try to match the color.  I didn't find a perfect match, but it was for the lining and no one sees it.

As usual, the slit in the front exposed way too much skin, so I raised it an inch and put a hook and eye in the middle of the slit to close it up a little.  If I make this dress again, I would also add some interfacing to the slit to give it a little more stability.  Another issue was the loose fit.  My top half is two sizes larger than my bottom half so the bottom half, beginning at the waist, has a very loose fit.  If I make this dress again, I'll blend down a size on the waist and skirt when tracing.

The dress fits more loosely than I expected. Making a muslin would have fixed that. In spite of the issues, I was happy with the results, primarily because I loved the fabric.  I had a new Easter dress and I felt like a little girl again.

And while we're on the subject … can I really tell how a dress is supposed to fit when the fashion photo looks like this?  Come on, Burda.  A little help please?