This dress is Kwik Sew 4154 - View B. I haven't sewn many Kwik Sew patterns but I really liked the tie in the front of the dress so I decided to give it a go.
I sewed a size Small straight out of the envelope with hardly any changes.
The dress has a long slit in the front that ends at a very modest point. The top of the V hits right on my collar bones and I debated about lowing it 3/4 inches. I might do that if I make another version.
As you can see here, the tie is only on the front of the dress
The dress is not meant to be lined, but I added a lightweight cotton for my lining.
I cut the armhole about 1/2 inch deeper all around the finished it with self-made bias tape. I made a lot of this bias tape so I'm sure it will show up in future garments.
The invisible zipper in the back fits very nicely.
And - a round of applause here please - this is the first time I have finished a zipper entirely on the sewing machine - no hand sewing of the lining at all. It looks quite nice, don't cha think!
And last, but not least the lining is edged with a bit of Rick Rack, because, I just couldn't resist really.
After wearing this dress to work one day and assessing the fit, there are a few changes I would make if I make this dress again:
1. Definitely lower the top of the V-neck by 3/4 inch. Every time I sat down, especially when driving the car, the top of the V's would ride up just enough to hit my neck and it was a little annoying.
2. Change the direction of the bias skirt. There is too much fabric in the center front, which ends up gathering between your legs a little bit when you walk. I always wear a slip underneath dresses and skirts and the fabric still kept bunching with the slip. A skirt being cut on the bias is usually a good thing because it results in such a nice drape, however, the bias falls right across the center front and back which means the side seams are on the straight of the grain and too much fabric ends up in the center front and back. The straight of grain on the side seams means it doesn't stretch when sewn, but, the zipper ends up on the bias which is a little annoying. So next time, I'll make the side seams lay on the bias instead of the center front and back.
The fabric for this dress came from Vogue Fabrics in Chicago. The DH and I made a trip to Chicago in May of this year and I was very excited about going to their store. We were staying in downtown Chicago so it was an hour train ride to get there. Here I am outside the store with my travel purse and backpack in tow expecting to find all kinds of wonderful fabric to stuff in my sack and be on my merry little way.
I had high expectations for the store since I have been to the Sew Expo in Puyallup, Washington several times and have enjoyed the Vogue Fabrics booth at the show (and spent lots of money at their booth too). I was severely disappointed in the store. Upon entering, it looked old, tired and dirty. Fabrics were on rolls and stacked on top of each other on big tables and it was hard to see what was buried underneath the pile. Not to be discouraged by bad first impressions, I plowed on. After almost tripping on the loose floor tiles and the uneven floor, it wasn't getting any better. The staff were extremely unhelpful - I actually had a shopper stop me and ask for help because they couldn't find someone in the store to help them!
They obviously save their best fabrics for the Sew Expo show. After about 30 minutes, the DH came back in to check on me and he could tell I was disheartened. I had nothing in my hands yet and was struggling to find something to buy. I didn't want to make that long of a journey and leave empty handed! I gave another quick look and ended up finding 3 pieces - this nice dot cotton that you see above, a bamboo tie dye knit and a light blue rayon with some sort of print that reminds me of hard boiled eggs. That was it! My total bill was only $50.00 which is not bad, but I was really hoping to fill up my backpack with prized fabrics. Oh well - at least I can check that store off of my list and know not to go again.
So - since this dot fabric is relatively new, I'm not including it in the stashbustin' total. The lining however I will count. Here are my YTD stats:
Total yardage for this dress = 2.75 yards
YTD Total = 60.375 yards
That's it for me today! Happy sewing everyone!
Star
