Let's just call this the beta version

The fantasy

Fitted sheath dress pattern

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vintagey floral print

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classy Oscar de la Renta/Vogue magazine type dress



The reality

Fitted sheath dress pattern

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vintagey floral print where flowers are spaced far apart

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bad 1990's flashback

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I finished up BWOF 2-2009-124 in a rush job on Saturday morning so I could wear it to a wedding that afternoon (I took the pictures just outside the reception venue - at South Lake Union for you Seattleites). A lot of people have had success with this pattern but it was really Allison's versions and praise that sold me. I agree that it's a great, versatile pattern to have in your arsenal.



Fabric

Fashion fabric: 100% cotton print from Nancy's Sewing Basket. Yes, it's actually brand new fabric I bought specifically for this project and not something that I inherited from someone's 15 year old stash. It didn't seem so 90's on the bolt, really! Anyway, it's got a really nice texture, I would have assumed it was linen if I hadn't known otherwise.

Lining: Ambience



Notes on construction/alterations

Because it is so close-fitting, a muslin is a must for this dress. I cut my standard 38, and while my alterations were minor, I would not be happy with the fit without them:

- Removed 1/2" length above waist (short torso)
- Let out skirt side seams a tad
- 1/2" forward shoulder
- Shaped shoulder seams into a more horizontal line to hug my shoulders more snugly

I omitted the facings and added a full lining. I assembled the dress and the lining separately, then stitched them right sides together at the neck, understitched, and flipped the lining to the inside. I could have used the all-in-one facing/lining technique that I recently practiced, but because I was rushed I decided to go with what I knew for sure would work for me.


I machine stitched the lining to the zipper.


I treated the lining and fashion fabric as one at the sleeve hem. I turned under the raw edges once, stitched those down, then turned it under again and hand stitched the hem.

And as if I wasn't already stressed trying to assemble most of the dress in a matter of hours, Murphy's Law kicked in:

My iron ate my dress!

I had just inserted the CB invisible zipper, and as I was flipping the dress over on the ironing board, the zipper pull somehow landed exactly in between the soleplate and body of the iron, and it would not come out!!! I tugged, yanked, pulled and pushed. Wouldn't budge. Tim came to the rescue by inserting a screwdriver in the space and wedging it open enough for the zipper to be freed.

Conclusion

I wore my most edgy, contemporary shoes to counteract the 90's vibe of the floral print. I think it helped :) I will definitely make this pattern again, what I love is that it only has 4 pattern pieces (if you omit the facings) and uses only ~1.5 yds of fabric. I might try raising the back V-neck for something more work appropriate.