June 26, 2012

A Dress In Hand

And, done.  Da-daaaa-d-d-d-da-daaaaa-da-da-daa-da-daaaa-da-da-da-da-da-da-da (That's the theme song for my completed dress)!  Sewing adventure number two was a success!  This dress is complete!  I'm a bit excited, if you hadn't noticed.  As soon as it was plenty sunny out I threw on my favorite floral shoes and I made a day of it.  This dress came together a lot quicker than the jacket, for obvious reasons, but I still managed to indulge in my laziness and cut a corner or two.  Or three.  Or... do you see where I'm going with this?  But at least it showcases my biking tan lines from the 65 mile Maine to Massachusetts ride I thought would be a good idea on the hottest day of the year last week...
The pattern calls for the bodice to have a lining, which I skipped.  It doesn't matter all that much since the print fabric is nice, fairly thick, and even has a subtle stretch to it.  I cut a straight size 12 from the pattern which was a semi-aimless guess.  It worked out!  I originally intended on using the print as the skirt part, but didn't have enough to work with.  I did scrap enough together to band the print at the bottom hem because I thought it tied the two fabrics together more.  This kind of makes it stick out a bit since the print is thicker than the seer sucker, but it's nothing too crazy.  I'm glad I dyed the seer sucker a bit, though I can't tell if I left it in for too long.  I think it could have been a touch lighter, but it doesn't really bother me.  The neckline is a bit wonkier than I had intended, and the sleeves were finished in a way only a procrastinator could, but they are manageable.  I cut way too many corners when it came to the zipper.  I didn't have an invisible zipper foot, so I sewed it like an ordinary zipper.  Oh well, this doesn't really bother me either.
What did bother me was that I forgot to check the fit before I sewed the zipper, and the top of the back zipper area was quite loose and stuck out a bit.  Rather than rip those seams out and re-do it, I just lazily darted that top area, and did so very unevenly.  The collar was also a bit tricky.  I took an extraordinarily make-shift route to come up with the collar, and did so in the seer sucker which sometimes has the tendency to do what it wants.  I had to tack it down in a few places to prevent funky ruffling, but it's not entirely unidentifiable if you ask me.
All in all, I think I did okay for my first dress.  I may have employed some guesswork when it came to the pleats, and I may have forgotten to add pockets, and I may have skipped the lining, and I may have taken a roundabout way to attempt a peter pan collar, and I may have missed the mark on the zipper... but it's a dress, it fits, and I think it's kind of nice.  It's far from professional looking, but it isn't terribly unfortunate looking either.  I think this will fit just nicely in my luggage for the trek to France in a couple days!
Real girls wear spandex under their lady clothes, right?  I feel like I need to go to an old fashioned soda shop in this dress, get an ice cream cone to share with a puppy, and skip, or even Mary Poppins glide, around a pedestrian only town with parasol in hand.  Because that exists, right?

16 comments:

  1. First dress, really? Amazing! My first dress was a crooked rectangle with twisted elastic sewn around the waist. So, you know, good job! I think now you'll begin to see just how addictive sewing is...

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  2. Thanks! Oh, and it has its fair share of imperfections. But luckily they aren't too noticeable unless I directly point them out to people. I am definitely beginning to see how addictive sewing can be. I liiiike it.

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  3. I love all of these photos! And it was so exciting and suspenseful waiting to see the whole dress come together! I haven't only made one dress using a pattern and it was made of sweatshirt material. I definitely want to become a proficient pattern reader. I feel it is necessary to my being, only I've been putting it off for years. I think your recent sewing adventures are just the motivation I need!

    I am so excited about your trip and I hope you have a fantastic time!! Eeeeh!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

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    1. Thanks Hillery! I hope you do start working on some sewing patterns. I'm sure you'd be great at it and I just know you'd pick really fun prints and colors.

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  4. You are so cute! It was a good call, using the floral for the bodice, and using it again at the hem. I like it a lot. :)

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    1. Yes, happy accident! I can't picture it any other way than how it is. I want to make a dozen more!

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  5. Are those gummy bear earrings!?? Amazing! And the dress looks great from over here :)

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    1. Guilty. Those are indeed gummy bear earrings. I have them in a bunch of colors, but red have gotten the most use. I also admit to getting my fashion influence from my summer campers. They were all the rage a couple years ago and I just had to have my own!

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  6. What a fabby dress, I love how you mixed the patterns. Looks perfect for France!

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  7. WOW!!! You've done an awesome job for your first dress!!! From where I'm sitting, your dress looks great. Sewing the patterned fabric as a band on the skirt ties it all together beautifully. Oh, and I love Peter Pan collars.

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  8. Oh the dress turned out so lovely!! Great job Megan!!!
    -Britney of Lemonwood and Honey

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  9. Jealous of your ability to make your own dresses! So pretty. And those flats are lovely too! I want! Thanks for participating <3

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  10. Hi Megan, I've featured your dress today...
    http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/07/threading-your-way-features.html

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  11. Why do girls wear spandex under their dresses :(((

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