Presenting.... The Drawstring Dress

A while ago, I mentioned that it might be fun to try some drawstring hems like those that were featured in Lucky magazine recently. McCalls 5317 seemed like a perfect candidate for this.

FYI: I'm wearing a black camisole under the dress.

Fabric

Fashion fabric - Brownish olive rayon/lycra (at least according to my burn test) jersey that I purchased as an unlabeled remnant from the Pacific Fabrics Outlet, 2 yards at $7/yd = $14

Drawstring - Black cotton twill tape (I looked for olive cording but couldn't find a good match), 5 yards at 15 cents/yd= 75 cents

Alterations/design changes

Neckline: The instructions call for you to stabilize the neck edge of the front bodice with seam binding, then line the bodice with the fashion fabric. I didn't like how the seam binding caused the neckline to look rippled, so I cut out the lining and seam binding, and instead finished the neckline with a self-fabric binding.

Bust gathers: I was worried there would be too much fabric in the bodice for my bust to fill out, so I did a kind of SBA in which I made a vertical slash in the pattern piece and overlapped the bottom part to get rid of 1" of fabric/gathers. I didn't make a muslin first so I just guesstimated as to how much to take out. I ended up fussing a LOT with the bust gathers to get them to look decent, to the point where I was starting to hate the dress, so I think maybe I shouldn't have altered the pattern piece.

original sleeve pattern piece folded; altered sleeve front & back pattern pieces

Sleeve: The sleeve is drafted to be extremely full; I redrafted it in my own haphazard way to make it less full (folding in the sides, slashing and overlapping the center), and then cut it down the middle in order to add a seam on the top of the arm. I left an opening in the top seam of the sleeve, at the casing, for the drawstring. I also shortened the sleeve pattern piece several inches.

Skirt: I shortened the front and back skirt pattern pieces several inches. I left an opening on one side seam of the skirt, at the casing hem, for the drawstring. Lining: Or lack thereof; the dress would be fully lined if you follow the directions, but because of my alterations, the dress is completely unlined.

This is the kind of shot that tabloids use to start pregnancy rumors

Will there be a 'next time'?
I'm not enamoured with the fit, so this pattern will be a one-hit wonder for me.

Rayon jersey: Just can't get enough

So, I haven't sewn a stitch in the past 7 days, although I've been thinking about it often. On Memorial Day, I started on McCalls 5317. I am going to skip the bubble hem on the skirt and finish the skirt and sleeve hems with drawstrings. Still feeling the high from my Cosmopolitan dress success, I decided to forgo the muslin and dive straight into my fashion fabric, an olive rayon jersey that I got about a year ago for at the Pacific Fabric Outlet, I think I paid about $7/yard for a little over 2 yards.

Sorry for the grainy bathroom mirror shot! Haven't read up on how to use the camera timer.

The pattern calls for a self-lined bodice, just like I did for my Cosmopolitan dress, a technique that I really liked. The instructions tell you to apply seam binding to the neck edge of the bodice front in order to stay the neck edge. Like a good pupil, I followed those instructions. After basting in the sleeves, I tried on the bodice. Look. Do you see those wrinkles at the neckline? Do you see how the left side almost seems to turn outward? That is because of the seam binding! I've been reading in a few different places about finishing this type of neckline with elastic, so why didn't I think of this sage advice earlier instead of following the directions like a zombie? Live and learn. Anyway, I've decided I will remove the lining (and seam binding!) and finish the neckline with a binding like Cidell did on her latest Cosmo, that will allow the neckline to conform more to my chest.