I promised pictures, and here they are. Because it was the middle of the day and the sun was bright, I tried to stand in the shade of the house with my picture-taker, aka husband, also trying to stand in the shade. I appreciate his willingness to help me with my projects.
I'm really pleased with my new dress. It has its issues that could be better, but, hey! It's the first dress I've made for myself in a long time that I feel comfortable wearing. It's made of a lightweight rayon challis that I bought at Hancock's in Orem, and I like the fabric and the colors.
I have mixed feelings about the wide neckline. I like it because I think its width helps my shoulders look a little broader, but I don't like that I have to keep tucking my underwear out of sight. I used the long sleeve pattern, but shortened it by a couple of inches. If I make this dress again, I'll do the same thing but shorten them even more. I had added width to the waist, but ended up taking about 1/2" back in on each side, for a total of 2 inches less on the waist than I had thought I needed. I had already taken that much in near the top of the side seam, right under the armscye, and when I took in the waist I would have liked to take in more at the top again, but I was too lazy to undo the sleeve and reset it. I added about an inch and a half to the length of the dress because I wanted to make sure it was long enough. Maybe it could be a little shorter, but I think I do like the length.
As for the fitting concerns that I talked about in a previous post, I was able to do some fine-tuning on the bodice front. I adjusted the princess seams to make them a little more fitted around my bust; maybe what I did could be called an SBA: Small Bust Adjustment. And I unpicked the bodice from the neckband and pulled it up a little, shortening the length of the bodice above the bust. That seemed to help with the neckline gaping issues that I had been having. Normally I guess I would have taken it up in the shoulder seams, but the neckband really didn't allow for that. It was interesting to me to note that of all the fitting tips given in this "Amazing Fit" Simplicity Pattern, it never addressed this issue of the gaping neckline. What I did could probably use some fine-tuning, but I think I figured it out okay. If I ever make this dress again, I'll try it in a size 16 to start with, and see if that doesn't help.
It turned out great! Fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteWow you got a really nice fit! I think if you added something to guide your straps through at the shoulders then they would stay out of sight. I've read about sewing something like this, and when I googled for it this is what I found: http://sewing.about.com/od/adultclothingprojects/a/brastraphlder.htm
ReplyDeleteGreat dress!
I Love it! I would like to see a closer picture, but I guess I can see it in person soon enough. I think it turned out really great. I can relate about the wide neckline though. I just bought a couple shirts like that and I'm not liking wearing them so much. I'm hoping with some better undershirts it will remedy the problem.
ReplyDeleteI understand your gaping issue because I also have it! We seem to have smaller spaces from neck to shoulder in the front, and for me wider space in the back shoulder area. I think a lot of mature women have this issue. My arms are kind of rotated forward. ??
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you can fix this on the pattern piece if you want to, but it may take a little fiddling. I've done it by slashing the neckband in a couple of places and overlapping the area next to your face by tiny amts until you get the right amount of excess taken out. If you can, leave the seam attching to the bodice front alone; that makes it easier than if you have to adjust the whole neckband, and the bodice pleats, darts or gathers. What I have done is make a copy the band pattern piece and play around with it until I think its right, make a muslin of the bodice and see if that solves the problem. I like this dress pattern and may try it. I don't have a waist anymore, so dress are hard for me to fit! This one looks like it might work!!