I took this past Thursday and Friday off with big plans to sew for 4 days. Well, all I managed to finish was my mash-up of Kwik Sew 3873 with a Cashmerette Concord Tee bodice, but I'm happy with my new dress so it's a win. The weather was just too nice on Saturday to stay inside all day but the biggest speed bump was my second thoughts about all these prints together, resulting in a bad case of analysis paralysis.
Cutting went very quickly, especially considering how many pieces there are. Since I was using 3 different fabrics and most pattern pieces were able to be "nested," I still have plenty left of each print for future projects.
I had the print mix in my mind before I started, but once I had everything cut out, I started second-guessing myself and visualizing Mrs. Frizzle. I ended up staring at it all on my cutting table for about a day before I finally decided to just do it. Once I actually started, the sewing went fast. The Kwik Sew pieces for the skirt curvy sections have notches that line up perfectly, making alignment and construction very straightforward. And since I morphed the already-tested Cashmerette Concord Tee for the bodice section, fitting alterations were eliminated.
With the bodice and skirt sections stitched, it was time for some more navel gazing. I had initially cut out sleeves from the same print as the bodice but then thought maybe I wanted contrasting sleeves. I put out a call for an informal poll on Instagram and the opinions were about equal for both options.
I decided the matching sleeves were a little less Crazytown and since I already had them cut out, they won. I'm happy with that decision. A contrast neckband finished up the print mixing.
I shortened the sleeves about 2-1/2 inches compared to the KS pattern (not the Concord sleeve) because while I wanted to try the longer short sleeve length, I decided it was too frumpy on me. After the first full try-on, I also shortened the back bodice 1 inch at the center graduating to 0 at the side seams. This was more to fine-tune the morph of the Concord in lieu of a real muslin. It also meant frog-stitching the back waist seam, but since I hadn't serged that seam, it was fairly painless.
Finally, since I have to carry a key card at work and without pockets I have nowhere to hang it, I added a loop at the front right waist seam for clipping the card onto it. I have to say that I LOVE this feature. Dorky, but so useful!
All of the mirror pics show how I wore this dress to work today, including my key card. It's the end of the day so I'm a little wilted but life is life. I'm never going to win for most beautiful blog pics. Hah.
And one more just because. The bottom "hem" isn't really. I just left the cut edge raw. After wearing all day, I think it probably grew a little too long and I may go ahead and hem it at some point when I want to veg with Netflix and pin a million pins on a very wide skirt hem. In other words, don't anyone hold their breath on that one. :-)
Final verdict: I love the dress! It fits nicely, thanks to the Concord bodice (by the way, if you're busty/curvy, go get this tee now! I am not affiliated, yada yada ... just really happy with the pattern). The dress skims lumps and bumps,and the twirl/swish factor is awesome. I even like the print mix again. It feels summery and fun. I'll definitely be visiting this pattern morph again, just in a more subdued way. I think I'd like it as a skirt too.
Parting shot: My Mother's Day gift from Alex ... New ceramic pots and colorful crotons to put in them. I love them!
