October Burda Challenge - Burda 10-2013 #111

 

I want so much to like this dress. It’s better but it’s not great. I will wear it because it’s cozy, and great for work, but I do not love you dress.

 

So, what did I do? What was my great fix? I opened the lower side seams on the skirt, pulled the front panels in until the folded section went into the side seam. Before I did this, the folds ended about an inch or two before the side seam. Really, there’s no way, it couldn’t have puckered. I’m not sure this is that much better. Sigh. So much time was wasted on this dress. Opening serging seams in not fun. And in a sweater knit? Blech. No more butt wings though.

 

It’s better, really it is. But great? No. I may still sew down the folds to “help” them stay flat. Although I’m not sure that will help them all that much. And really? Truth be told? I’m done with this dress.

 

You can still see here that the folds are a problem but not nearly as much as before.

Some things I noticed with this pattern:

• It seems to run large. I’ve never had this problem with Burda. The smallest size is a 36 and I did my typical sizing down to a 34. After it was done, I took this in about 4” total in the side seams. Yikes! The shoulders were way too far out so I also took a tuck out of the neck/upper back of about 3” to suck in the shoulders and back.
• The neckband pattern piece seems too long for the bodice. I took out about an inch before I sewed it to the bodice.
• There are inset pieces below the waist on the back. They add seams and bulk to your butt.
• The overlapping pieces on the front add a lot of seam bulk to the waist seam.

I won’t be making this dress again. For those of you who want to still make it, I would suggest doing a little flat pattern measuring of the bodice. Also, I would change the pattern a bit to get rid of those folds across the front. I would just make it a regular ol’ rectangular skirt front. If you really want the folds on the front, I would certainly sew the folds down!

Oh well, the final dress turned out okay, just not great like I was hoping.

Burda 10-2013 #111 - Can it be saved?

Here’s the newest dud. I’m really having a great run, eh? I really like this dress. Here’s the line drawing.

 

Here it is on the dress form. Notice that the sides do not lay flat.

 

Here it is on the model. See how far her legs are apart? I think as long as it’s like this, there are no weird hip puckers. Good lord this woman is thin.

 

Here is my version with puffy sides. Not hemmed, of course. This reminds me of Melissa’s post from long ago regarding a tulip skirt where she couldn’t move.

 

See the poofy sides? Uck. That’s not exactly where you want extra poofs.

 

I have Butt Wings.

 

Here it is flat.

 

I was thinking of folding out a section of the fold-over pleat and sewing down.

 

It would look like this close-up but it might just look like a design feature in the fabric. Of course, I don’t want poof there either. I think if I sew it down well, it will be okay. Maybe. It’s depressing to have two not-good things come out of my sewing room in a row.

 

The other option, of course, is to rip the serger seams and sew on a new front skirt. I’m not sure this knit can handle it though. Pondering . . .

Also, this dress is a size 36 which I sized down to a 34 and it’s really big on me. Hoping I can finish this dress by the weekend. I’m still pondering the fate of the yellow, green wrap dress.

KS 3408 - Wrap Dress Dud

You guys know I’m a wrap dress addict. Or, if you don’t, you haven’t been reading my blog long enough. I saw this KwikSew pattern on sale at my favorite sewing store and thought I would buy it. I really like the older KwikSew patterns (not the tissue paper ones that are all crafty from the present time). I think it’s an okay pattern with good lines (good-ish, there were bust issues) but I don’t like this fabric with it. At first, I was all like, “Oh, THIS will be an awesome dress. Border print with a wrap dress! Sqqqquuuueeeeeeeeeeee.” Even as I was cutting and assembling, I was sqqquuueeeee-like. When I put the sleeves in and looked at it as a unit, I was like sqqquuuuueeeeeeeeeeeee-NOT.

There are 13 positive reviews on PatternReview.com so maybe it’s just me.

Why do I dislike it so much? I’m not sure. The sleeves are too loose. I could make them tighter. I like the slightly flared skirt. Mostly. The bodice fits okay but not great. I used a small which is my usual size in KwikSew. It’s not hemmed.

 

The back of the bodice fits great. I think I have the right size. The more I worked with the fabric, the more I disliked the yellow and green on it.

 

Here are the bust wrinkles. Maybe I had the ties pulled too tight so it pulled the entire bodice over? I really don’t like how the paisley fabric met in the middle and made me paisley-boob-woman. I really don’t like the sleeves.

 

This is sort of my overall feeling about it. I’m not loving the fabric and/or the pattern. Look! Boob-paisley-woman!

 

I have another dress that is an almost-dud. I think I need to work some issues out with it. I’ll post about that tomorrow or the next day. I’ve been a busy monkey with work stuff, legal stuff, and home stuff.

I WON!

I found out yesterday that my entry into the PatternReview.com Mini-wardrobe contest won first place!!!! Holy cow. Thank you to all of you that encouraged me on, helped me along the way, and voted for me at the end of it all. There were some pretty amazing wardrobes in this competition.

Here was my final wardrobe composite picture. I love each of these garments together and separately.

I have been sewing, but not much. I made a dud I need to show you and then we had company downstairs, and now it’s conferences at that place I work. Super busy!

But also SUPER excited about the contest. I have $100 at Fashion Fabrics Club to spend. I can always use prizes like that! Sqqqquuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Fall Foliage - Sorry, no sewing.

On my “run” the other day, I was so caught up in the fall colors that I walked for probably half of it. There were sew many pretty pictures to take and I couldn’t resist. These are high-bush cranberries.

 

These are positively glowing with the sun. I’m sure people driving on the road thought I might be a freak. I was dressed to run but crouched on the side of the road with my iPhone. But wasn’t it worth it? 

 

High-bush cranberries turn this beautiful reddish-purple color.

On another note, if you haven’t voted in the PatternReview.com Mini-Wardrobe contest, you should do it soon. It closes in a few days. There are some amazing wardrobes in there!

I have some things to show you but the weather has been dismal for photographs this weekend.