Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Riddle me this -

Did I make a wadder? Is it a new dress for my size-smaller friend with similar coloring? Or is it a pencil skirt waiting to happen?

When January's BWOF arrived before Christmas, I dove right in. As has happened a lot lately, I wasn't tremendously impressed. I did, however, like #117, the petite faux-wrap dress.

I've had some good results with BWOF petite patterns before - I am under 5'4", after all - and the one time I made a petite top, I un-petited it and got a pretty good result. So for this dress, I decided to wing it and not muslin.

When the sewing gods decide to pay you back after a string of successful projects, they have a particularly dark sense of humor.

I'm a 38 in BWOF. In BWOF petites, I'm a 19. This dress was for dress fabrics with "some stretch." The fabric I had on hand had some stretch, but I wasn't certain that it had enough stretch, so I cut really wide seam allowances.

But not wide enough. Apparently. Since I look like a sausage about to split out of its casing. Especially the back view - check out that rippling hipline. Ack.

I don't look like that.

As for the top, it's tight. Tight, I tell you. While I did un-petite, I didn't do an FBA. I've never done an FBA with BWOF, so I didn't even consider it. Plus, even though it's not a true wrap, the structure of the faux wrap looked like there would be plenty of room for the girls. But thinking about it now, maybe BWOF petite people have petite boobs. Mine aren't. They're not more than average, but they certainly didn't fit well in this dress. I think I managed to achieve the always-attractive mono-boob look here.

And can I tell you that I'm annoyed that I put in one of my best invisible zippers ever here, and the dress is so tight around my hips that the zipper actually looks skewed. It's not, honest and truly.

At this point, while the sleeves are cut out, they're not being sewn on. The sides are only basted together, at the furthest edges of the seam allowance. I haven't hand-stitched the facings in place, either, because I'm really assuming that this will get torn apart and made into the skirt this fabric was probably intended to be anyway.

I emailed my friend Jen, who got married last year in my great-aunt's wedding dress, and asked her if she wanted to come over to watch Project Runway tomorrow night and try the dress on.

She made me promise not to mutilate it until she tried it on.

Okay, I promise. But get here soon, because this is really bugging me.

11 comments:

Kathi said...

I thought that was cute in the magazine, but I am not a petite! I am sorry it turned out so badly for you. I think you really add to the look with the socks!!!

Christina said...

Oh darn, that is a great fabric too, Burda is usually so consistent and trustworthy. I hope it fits your friend!

Linda L said...

I feel your pain! But your friend may get a new dress or your wadder to be will become a skirt, so not totally wasted.

Little Hunting Creek said...

Oh I hate when this happens! But it will either be a great skirt or your friend gets a new dress (you're so nice!)

Karin van Dam said...

That's such a shame. Hopefully your friend is very lucky. And otherwise I'm sure this will turn out to be a wonderful skirt. It's the perfect fabric for it!

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Oh dear, that's too bad. :( You know I feel your pain! But I'm thinking I should check that pattern out if it's drafted for petite boobs.

Dawn said...

Frustrating, yes. But, after all the great things you have turned out recently, not unexpected. You've got to miss every once in a while and you've been on a hot streak lately. If your friend doesn't love it, make it a skirt.

redhotpepper said...

I'm glad to hear your comments because I have this on my to-do list and I'm a petite with NOT petite boobs.

I may have to punt on the fabric choice too as I had planned on using a not very stretchy one.

This is why I love the online sewing community! I would never have known the problems with this pattern. Heck, I wouldn't even have known about BWOF!

Annie

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Yeah that one needs to be donated. The zipper is badly skewed in the back and the front well its the front...*sigh*

Silknmore said...

First of, it's not that bad - we are just too hard on ourselves.
http://fabricateandmira.wordpress.com/

Eugenia said...

Sometimes things just don't turn out right! Perhaps you can rescue this one, or at least get a skirt or a top out of it? It would be a shame to waste such lovely fabric, the colours are beautiful.