This has been the Lord of the Rings of dresses. I swear Frodo and Sam could have done two full circuits of Middle Earth and disposed of the ring in the time that it took me to fit and finally sew this Christine Haynes Emery dress. At one stage I was close the throwing the whole thing in the bin. However I am pretty determined in character: if I start something I will bloody finish it!
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Now that I'm finished and have had time to cool off and wear the dress I absolutely love it. It fits pretty well across my back and I can lift my arms in the sleeves. What a novelty! (See previous sewing post for details on fitting woes.)
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Who would have thought that a couple of small tweaks to the back bodice would correct all my weird shoulder and sleeve fitting issues. A small change can go a long way.
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Who would have thought that a couple of small tweaks to the back bodice would correct all my weird shoulder and sleeve fitting issues. A small change can go a long way.
Alterations included:
- lengthening the bodice by 5/8". It looked like I needed the length on my muslins/toiles, but once I attached the skirt to the finished bodice it looked a smidgen too long so I'll probably shorten it by 1/4" on my next version. Yeah, you'd better believe I'm going to milk this pattern now that I've fitted it!
- 1/4" high round back adjustment (or for big shoulder blades?) This curved my centre back seam so I cut down into my neckdart and pivoted out to restore the line.
- increasing each neckdart by 1/2" to fix gaping.
- 5/8" sway/erect back adjustment. No more tilting backwards waistline!
- removing 1/2" from the collar at the back to match the amount I increased my neckdart by.
- shortening the skirt by 2" as the original length looked frumpy on me. Midi lengths do me no favours and this dress was calling to be shorter and cuter.
- adding a skirt lining as I cannot bear tights sticking to my dress. However it is becoming a pain having to add linings to everything so I'm wondering if I should try wearing/making a half slip. I used to have a slip which I wore with a dress in my teens but I really didn't like wearing it. Perhaps I'd feel differently about it now though...?
- invisibly hand tacking the top of my collar down with a few stitches, catching the underneath of the collar, as it refused to lie flat despite grading, clipping and understitching the seams.
- adding a patch pocket instead of in seam pockets and making my first ever buttonhole! I'm mildly embarrassed that I've owned my sewing machine for 10 years and never used the 4 step buttonhole function. It wasn't scary at all. My button came from my Granny T's old button tin. I have no idea where it originally came from, perhaps a coat, but I like that I've given it a new lease of life.
I must admit I find it hilarious that I basically made no adjustments to the front bodice. All my fitting issues were with my back. I was so convinced I'd need to do a full bust adjustment but it turned out to be unnecessary. One less fitting alteration, score!
Check out my back and invisible zip. I feel both deserve a high five.
I'm not sure whether my adjustments are 100% perfect, but I'm pretty happy with the overall fit of the dress. It's the best I can achieve for my current level of skill and knowledge and a vast improvement from the original fit. Other than shortening the bodice slightly I think the only other change I might make will be to nip in the side seams or increase my waist darts as the bodice is a bit roomy around my waist. Better a bit roomy than too tight though. I need space for my cake stomach.
I love putting in a contrast bodice lining. It's a dressmaker's perk.
This dress will definitely get a lot of wear. I'm so glad I persevered as I love having a dress with a collar and I finally got to use the fabric I bought almost two years ago when I decided I wanted to start sewing again. It's cute without being totally ridiculous, it's casual and practical (pocket for my phone or tissues, yay!) and has so many colours in it that I have endless cardigan possibilities. So far I'm favouring it paired with my green one.
I've already cut out my next sewing project, a Tilly Walnes Coco top. Knit fabric is unchartered territory for me and I'm jumping straight in as I don't have suitable muslin fabric. Fingers crossed I end up with something presentable!