I completed this dress some time back but at the end of the project just felt pretty "meh" about it. So it hung in my closet for a couple months while it waited to be hemmed and then I finally thought I'd wear it and see how I liked it. Turns out some projects just don't always pan out like you think they will in your mind's eye but with a little distance from them you can come to appreciate them for what they did turn out to be...does that make sense to any other sewers out there?
I had envisioned this dress shape looking like
this Kate Spade dress. I tried this dress on for fun last fall while visiting Hanni in Kansas City and loved it. So I came home and tried to make something similar.
Fabric: The fabric is from Hancock fabrics and is a cotton sateen. I love cotton sateen and this one has a nice feel. The lining is some blue poly lining given to me. Its not very breathable but gets the job done.
Patterns: Skirt from Vogue 1392 and Top from Butterick 5982. The top part has some puckering/stands out around neck and I've noticed this has happened to others online that have made this pattern. I stay stitched the neck so I know that it didn't stretch out. If there were to be a next time for this dress I'd go down a size in the shoulders, this version is a size 10. I love the darting/princess seams here- it adds some interest and I've never sewn a dress with this darting/seaming. Its been a while since I made this dress so I think that I graded the waist out to a 12 and that the skirt is a size 12. The skirt is cute but I'm betting the skirt originally drafted for this dress would be more appropriate for this style. I also shortened the length of the top thinking that I could get the waist line to look similar to the Kate Spade dress.
Styling: I added the belt to this dress and it made all the difference for me. I included the picture below so that you can see the comparison. The belt really helped define the waist in my opinion plus I wanted to wear my red shoes and two lobster pins (thanks Mom I borrowed those from the granddaughter you gave them to!). I love any good excuse to wear my red shoes! This dress makes a great church dress, turned out a bit too short (my fault for shortening the top part too much) for work and I only hemmed it the smallest amount possible by attaching hem lace to the edge and only just barely turning it up and hand stitching.
Well there you go! This Frankenpattern is finally seeing the light of day and I got some really sweet compliments when I wore it which is always nice! I promise to be nicer to this dress in the future and instead of pushing it to the back of the closet, it will get in the regular Sunday rotation.
Linking up to
Sew it Chic in a Week at Gray All Day.
