Sunday, July 27, 2008

BWOF 5/08 #104 Dress

Pattern Description: Misses' Back-zip sleeveless v-neck dress w/front drape and buckle.

Pattern Sizing: BWOF 34-42. I made my usual BWOF 38 and it fit just fine.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very easy for Burda. I'd already made #103 from this issue, the top version with the asymmetrical drape, and the instructions for this dress referred back to those.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I didn't think I would like this dress so much because I wasn't that enthused about the top after I made it, but after seeing so many wonderful versions of it, I had to try and I'm glad I did - I really love it.

Fabric Used: Olive green and black mod-patterned cotton lycra jersey from Fabric.com.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: As did everyone else, I left out the back zipper. Since the fabric has so much stretch, I didn't see going through the joy of putting an invisible zipper in a knit for no reason other than that Burda said to. I raised the neckline by about 1/2" and made it slightly more rounded. I left off the extended facing again (didn't put it in the top either) and just made a minimal facing that I topstitched at the neck. Since I topstitched the armholes too, it worked out fine. I didn't have a buckle on hand that I liked and since the instant gratification seamstress was in charge, I went with a knot (the only part of the original top I was happy with).

As also has been noted in a few reviews, this dress runs a tiny bit big. The only place it was a problem for me was on the front drape, which I ended up taking in by about 1 1/2" on each side so that it didn't droop instead of drape.
Once I did that, it sat nice and flat against my tummy, while quite considerately concealing a good bit of said tummy. It's a very good dress for concealing a bit of excess fluff! Evelyn doesn't have as much fluff as me, so the dress looks a tad roomier on her. Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of me wearing the dress soon.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'll definitely make another one of these - I have some black jersey hanging around and for that, I'll definitely hold off until I get a deserving buckle.

Conclusion: A fast and easy dress that's extremely flattering. There's definitely another one of these in my future.

12 comments:

stacysews said...

Fabulous! I just bought some of this fabric myself so it's nice to see it made into a garment.

Dawn said...

Love your version!

Anonymous said...

I love the way the front buckle affects the pattern on the fabric. Very cool dress. :)

Meg said...

Great dress, Karen!

CraftRage said...

Totally excellent dress!

Alexandra said...

That looks great! Makes me want to make one like that, too.

Eileen said...

Love the dress. Just wondering if you do any fabric shopping around the Philadelphia area?

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

I am warming up to this one. I liked it in the magazine, didn't like the sacky result people were getting from it, and now like your more fitted version. Great fabric too!

Vicki said...

Love the dress! I must put it on my "to do" list. A black one with a perfect buckle sounds lovely.

Cennetta said...

Great dress. I've got to try this one.

Kat said...

Beautiful dress! It's a perfect style.

Vildy said...

Just another WoW comment. This is an amazing dress.