KS 4026 aka My Broke Woman's Myrtle

Here's the finished dress. I'm not in the love with the fabric, so that has a bearing on my feelings for the dress. It's just a crappy thin rayon knit that feels like a nightgown. I would like the dress much better in an ITY. The print is cool, which is why I bought the fabric to begin with. But it's definitely a low-quality knit and nothing will change that. I expect I'll make it again whenever I can afford to buy some new fabric because I do actually like the style of the dress on me, if not the fabric.

I hinted in a previous post at showing how I used my TNT tee for sizing this dress. I thought I took more pics, but hmmm. Guess not. I'll go over the ones I did manage to take, though. And since my camera battery is dying and I have NO IDEA where the cord is, I suspect it's going to be a while before I post with photos again. :-( I know I'm whining, but I'm really, REALLY tired of being broke because if I wasn't, I'd have a new camera by now. And better fabric choices. Definitely better fabric choices.

So, here we go ... I placed my TNT back piece over the KS back pattern piece. My goal here and on the front bodice piece was to get the widths right for me but to also keep in mind matching up to the KS waist width where it matched closest because the skirt would need to be attached at that seam and I didn't want extra, or worse, too little, at the matching seam. I also wanted to use my TNT armhole since KS armholes are notoriously low, especially on me.

Here's the tracing. It's basically a S at the neck/shoulder/upper chest and then moving to M/L through bust level and then down to the waist seam.

This is where I thought I had more pics. I had already created a drape front from my TNT so I used that piece to gauge the sizing for the KS. You can kinda sorta see the edge of TNT drape front at the right of this photo. The final tracing follows the same sizing variations as the back ... S up top, gradually to a M/L by the waist. The bottom length is longer than the KS pattern only because I knew I was adding a wide casing for the waist elastic (which is what Myrtle-izes this) and there was enough tissue below the bodice to just do it in one pass. For the back, I had to tape on extra.

I knew I'd never use armhole facings even if I decide later to make a sleeveless version so I just traced my TNT sleeve on that part of pattern tissue so I'd have a copy of the sleeve with this dress and not have to dig out the original.

Here are the finished front and back bodice pieces, where you can see the elastic casing taped onto the back piece and just cut onto the front. I added the width of the elastic (1-3/8" I think without looking). And that's it. Since I ended the waist at the actual KS L waist width, I used the L skirt pieces without alteration.

Also, I find most pattern drape fronts to be on the short side, which makes the cowl more fiddly. I added 1-1/2" to the drape section as I was cutting. I had no problems when wearing this dress with the cowl flipping outward or anything so this was enough extra for me. I know the Myrtle has a "self-lined" front, which is really just the whole front doubled and then folded where the drape edge would be if it wasn't "self-lined." I thought about doing this, but decided it would be too hot and the fabric would stick to itself and not lay nicely. And since I added the sleeves, I didn't need to worry about finishing armhole edges with anything other than my serger.

And one last shot. Maybe one day, I'll venture outside for some better pics and a different pose. Well, if I ever find the camera cord or can afford a new one. :-( (I hope I'm not sounding too whiney. I *am* appreciative of having an income, just impatient for the new permanent job and salary to happen already.)