Do I like it, I'm not quite sure. I certainly liked it on the McCalls YouTube clip.; all swingy and bouncy (or was that the model!).
I do love the sleeves.
Possibly with the ability to fly without a parachute! You can just see the rather successful neck binding in these photos and although you don't need the back opening to get this over your head I did still include this as a feature.
Its loose and comfortable and makes the most of this fabulous John Kaldor Microfibre from Minerva (great fabric, lovely to sew but awful to press - maybe you don't need to).
I originally prepped for a medium, but after reading other reviews and doing a tissue fitting I thought a small would be good enough and it is. I should have added a little more length to give a large hem (this one is just 1 cm) which I think would aid with the swingy factor. I didn't think that the bottom of the dress was going to be wide enough so I added a good inch each side, only to have to take it out as it wasn't needed and spoilt the line.
There is one pocket on the diagonal, which is cute, but as it is fully French seamed there is a lot of bulk here and I wouldn't have a pocket in a French seamed seam again. Otherwise the French seams look nice.
More detail of the pocket.
I think I like it, but will have to wear it to decide. What it certainly is is a dog's dinner of a dress. I do not remember making as many silly mistakes on one garment before. First I cut one pocket the wrong way, this wouldn't have shown but being picky I recut it ..... only for some reason I cut it out of the already cut back piece! I then didn't have enough fabric to cut another back so I had to join two pieces together on one side (with a diagonal seam). As if that wasn't enough I then didn't read the instructions, joined front to back (graded and French seamed) only to find you actually insert the sleeves on the flat before joining front to back. I could undo the side seams to tried to fit the sleeves as usual in the round! It was awful, really hard and fiddly and whilst I have got them in they are a bit of a mess.
I think this dress would look great in a stripe, but why is it you just can't seem to find any striped viscose? Have you spotted any ... black preferably.
On the non-sewing front I've had a busy couple of weeks. Dan, Gemma and I went to see Derren Brown at the Lowry. What a fantastic show. I bought the tickets a year ago so we were right at the front. Derren is a bit of a hero of Dan's and it was fantastic that Dan got to be part of the show. His face was on the stage 15 foot high, and his bit lasted about 5 minutes, as Dan said awesome. And to finish a little bit of puppy cuteness, this is Costa, an eight week old Cockerpoo who has just joined my friend Robert's family.
Great dress, and I have been searching for striped woven viscose for the last 6 months with no luck!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great. Brilliant fabric choice and the colours suit you. This is my current favourite pattern!
ReplyDeleteYes, stunning fabric and looks terrific. Often the simplest looking things are the hardest to make - you've done great.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a statement dress! I like the pockets. All dresses should have pockets in my humble opinion. So many creations Mags, you are so talented. x
ReplyDeleteIf you are still looking for beautiful striped fabrics, MarcyTilton.com has tons. She is really into strips. Gorgeous quality.
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