Project #14 - aubergine dress

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

I finished this dress last night. Last Saturday, I wrote about trying it out in muslin and planned to finish it on Sunday. Then I got sidetracked and the dress had to wait a couple of days.
Anyway, here it is:



The pattern is from Burda WOF 06/99 - #125. It's a simple sheath-like dress with a high-waist seam. The bodice and sleeves are cut on the straight of the grain, the skirt on the bias. A pretty scoop neckline and short sleeves finish off the summery look.

The pattern comes in sizes 36-44. I used size 36 and made appropriate adjustments on the muslin. The bias skirt was the only iffy thing because muslin is much stiffer than the fashion fabric so I knew the drape would be different.

I read through the instructions to get an idea of how they intended the dress to be sewn up. They were fairly straightforward but I changed some things:

1. I prefer to put the zipper in while the back is still flat, before sewing the shoulder and side seams.
   
2. Also, I didn't line the dress because I wanted it to be the kind of dress I could wear when it's 90F and feel comfortable. (Not that I'm expecting heat like that here in Germany - we're supposed to have a high of 58F, yes, fifty-eight, tomorrow.)
   
3. No lining meant I had to come up with an alternate way to finish the neckline. I used a bias strip pressed to the inside (not binding).
4. I added a belt because when I was working with muslin #1, I used the belt from my robe to cinch it in to see if it truly was worth fixing. It was and I decided to make a matching belt because I liked the look.
5. The original pattern shows the sleeves made of chiffon. I used the same fabric as the rest of the dress.
   

The fabric is a linen/cotton blend that I'd bought when we were still in Florida. Oh, the good old days of being able to run a mile or so down the road to my favorite fabric store/Bernina dealer. It was very easy to work with it - it sews up and presses like a dream. I was a bit scared of the bias because it is really stretchy, being a somewhat loose weave. I had actually spent most of Sunday researching ways to ensure success with bias sewing. It turned out I didn't need to worry. I quickly found a way to control the stretch with my fingers and it went very smoothly.

This pattern is new to me but it just became a TNT and I will be making and wearing more of these little dresses. I already have a couple of fabrics in mind.
Here's how I wore it today - with a linen shawl I knitted two or three years ago.



The belt is hard to see in the pictures because it's made in the same fabric as the rest of the dress. I positioned the belt to cover the seam. I wanted a bow in the front but I just couldn't make a bow I liked. I made a few "too-bows" (too floppy, too stiff, too big, too small, too wide...) then I gave it up. I decided instead of putting a button or hook/eye closure on the belt, I'll make it just a little bit longer and tie it in the front. The ends look like a bow when it's all done.

Closeup pictures and more thoughts about the bias are in Part 2.