Whew! I really didn't think this dress was going to get finished but it did and here is a hanger view:
I think I am going to really like this dress. Yes, the fabric wasn't the color that I thought I was getting but I think it turned out very nice. I had more issues with this dress that I ever thought was possible.
I started this dress at the end of July. You can find the posts on the muslins - Muslin 1 and Muslin 2. There are a fairly long list of changes to the pattern:
1. Raised the neckline by 2 inches and corrected the neckline.
2 Added a dart which lengthened the bodice by 1 1/2".
3. Added an inch to the length.
4. Added a rounded back adjustment.
5. Respaced the buttonholes/buttons because of the added length to the bodice.
One of these changes will cause me grieve later and I will explain.
At the end of the last Bertie post, I was ready to go. I made all the changes to the pattern (I thought) and cut it out. I got the bodice stitched, the neckline done, the sleeves in, and then I hit the first snag. I did not have the braided elastic called for in the pattern. I attempted to use a knit elastic. NOPE. The knit elastic would not work. So, I started looking for braided elastic in the correct width. Folks, narrow width elastic is not easy to find. I finally found some at Nancy Zieman Productions. This site also had some other items I had been looking for so it turned out good.
Then, I fell into a sewing slump and didn't sew for a couple of weeks. Yeah, not the right time for that to happen. I finally made myself get with it. The right kind of elastic was perfect and got the dress hemmed. The button bands was the last thing to do. Here is where I missed a change on the pattern - the button band. I had added the 2-inch at the top and the 1-inch, but I missed the 1 1/2-inch change of the bodice. My button band did not fit the dress. Luckily, I had enough fabric to recut the band. Yeah, the dress is all done except for the buttonholes and buttons. The respacing meant that I was going to use every button that I had purchased. Shell buttons can be fragile and you know I broke one taking off the package. Another delay! So the next opportunity that I got to go to JoAnn Fabrics, I was hopefully that there would be more shell buttons but I had purchased all the shell buttons in that size the last time I was there. Much to my surprise, the buttons were there.
A few days later, I return to working on the dress. Because of earlier mistakes, I was able to create a button band to practice making buttonholes. Sewing button holes on the rayon twill turned out to be an adventure all by itself. I ended up using a folded piece of the rayon twill under the right side of the pressure foot. This was the only way that I could get the buttonholes even remotely straight and I had to make 15 buttonholes. These are the ugliest buttonholes I have ever made but they are functional and I will be the only person who really knows. Do not say anything if you see me in the dress.
If I have enough fabric left, I intended to make a matching tie belt. I do think the dress needs it. I am also unsure of what type of shoe to wear this. When I have time with the photographer, maybe I will try a couple of different shoe types and post it.
In conclusion, this is not a beginner pattern at all. It is marked as a beginner intermediate. If you were just stitching, maybe that is the correct rating but if you have to do any fitting it is not. For me, the neckline sat right on top of the edge of my bra. That is too low and wide for me. The fact that the dress has to be made entirely before any fitting can happen makes if difficult also. I don't know if I will make this again. I feel like I should make a version in chambray for summer but who knows what size I will be next summer. Besides, there are lots of other patterns to stitch.
Happy Stitching!
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