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.
4 comments:
I repeat myself but I must remind you not to be so critical of the clothing you make. It is so much better looking and better made than most of the things I see that people make. And I must tell you, I'm a first class nitpicker about sewing.
I'm glad you have fixed it so it is wearable for you. I understand you don't love it, but it really isn't that noticeable that the folds stick out. And you are wise to be done with it. Time to move on, Dawn! Almost everything you make looks perfect, so something that is not so perfect is bound to happen every so often.
I absolutely LOVE you in this dress! It's so bold and sexy!!! It's got an unique artistic quality that you can effortlessly pull off! I totally understand if you're critical of it but I like it. As soon as I scrolled over it I just gasped with amazement. They say first reactions never lie:)
I've traced this pattern, but upon first look, I could not for the life of me figure out how to fold the folds... I'll have to take another look. I wonder if the back insets could rotated into regular vertical darts to line up with the back darts...that might reduce some of the bulk they create... thank you for your review, I'll keep all your advice in mind when making this!
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