I did it.
I sewed an entire dress for myself. Literally.
Let's start with the cumbersome portion of this journey, shall we?
I happen to HATE picking out fabric when I am under stress. Now, that's not to be confused with me hating to pick out fabric. For some odd reason, when I am sewing for others, fabric and pattern choices are easy for me to choose. Not so much for me. I picked out fabric, paid for it, and found out that the weight of it was just not suitable for the dress that I decided to make. So not happy.
I had to go back to the drawing board, which in short translates to going to JoAnn's and praying to the crafting gods that I found something this close to Easter (it was two weeks away) that I loved.
I picked out a turquoise linen blend fabric that happened to be on sale. I also go there just in time to get the last piece of material on the bolt.
This is the pattern that I chose to use, I did the 'B' Facing with the tabs from the 'C' Facing:
Here's the front:
It happens to be wrinkled, and it happens to be a little tight, but you know what? I don't care. I happen to love it. I love that I was able to sew something for myself for once, and that it fit.
I did measure at a 14, but I have a bit of a larger bust than most. So, I had to add extra fabric to the back bodice pieces to accommodate that, since I had already cut out the front portion of the bodice.
Here's the back with an invisible zipper installed:
There's still some tugging right at my lower waist (darn having such a broad back!) but I still love it.
The skirt is fully pleated and "should" come several inches above the knee. Notice I said, should. It does not, since I am 5' 2" and most of the people modeling these things are easily 5' 9", I'm sure of it. But it ended up being modest enough for Easter Sunday service, so it's a success in my book.
Overall, Simplicity is MUCH easier to work with than McCall's in my opinion. It was straight stitching for the most part, and use of sewing techniques that I already knew. However, I did have to do a down and dirty study of easing the fullness of a hem on a puffed skirt. Hopefully, I can find one that I actually understand for later projects.
So, how'd I do?
~Make It A Fantastic Day
Whitney says
You did a FABULOUS job, and I LOVE the color! Wow, you really inspire me to step my game up. Or I should probably save myself the frustration and order an exact duplicate of this perfectly girly frock!! You rock!
Mrs. Houseful says
Ha! Ordering an exact replica! I happen to think that you could just do a dandy job as well. We really should have a sewing challenge sometime soon. >sigh< Thanks for coming through.
Daenel T. says
You did a great job. I'm so impressed with your skills!
Mrs. Houseful says
Thanks Daenel! Now if I can just learn to knit/crochet I'll be a FORCE! *giggle*
Julie Hanson says
so impressed! very flattering pattern choice. and i love the color.
Mrs. Houseful says
Thanks Julie! It definitely took quite a bit of time to come together, but I can appreciate it! Missing you at the branch!
Cynthia says
I love this dress! So cute, and the color is perfect. This definitely doesn't look like your first dress, I would have thought it was RTW if I saw you on the street. It's beautiful!
Mrs. Houseful says
Cynthia,
I take that as high praise coming from someone who has sewing skills that I absolutely am jealous of!! Thanks for coming through, and I think that my next dress is going to be the pattern that you have in your avatar now. I've been sitting on it for a while, and just need the right fabric (why does it TAKE so long to find just the right one?!)
Amy B. says
I LOVE IT! I am going to forward this to my mom, the sewing genius in our family. Wish I knew how to sew!!