I <3 Simplicity 2724
This, officially, is my new FAVORITE pattern. I actually finished the 'first' dress two days ago. I posted a couple of pictures earlier this week about how well it was working out. And it really did.
First of all, the photo's don't do this dress justice. I chose to use taffeta because this is going to be my Christmas dress. As I mentioned earlier, I really wanted the green that I saw in another blogger's review. Alas, I couldn't find any. However, this navy blue really works for me.
I'll have to make sure to get photo's on Christmas. I'm wearing sparkly high heeled sandals too. It was in the low 70's here today, and while we're supposed to drop down to the 50's by Christmas day, it will be warm enough inside to take a picture! I was really worried that that taffeta would be too stiff. I even went up a size to accommodate for the lack of ease in the fabric. I think it was a good choice because the dress fits like a glove.
You can't see the pleats in the sleeve here and it "looks" wrinkled in the photo's. It's not. It's just that this taffeta is a very firm fabric. Very little drape.
Unlike the "second" dress that I'm working on from this pattern!!!
For the second dress, I kept the puff sleeves (I can't go sleeveless at my office, too casual). I want the next dress to transition into summer. If you've never been to Houston in the summer, it's VERY humid here. And while I work in an air conditioned office building, I commute on the Metro. And I wait outside for the Metro. Comfort is a key factor for me. So the second dress is using the scoop neckline and pencil skirt. They call it a slim skirt, but it has all the looks of a pencil skirt to me, just with an attached bodice. I'm also making a jacket to coordinate with it for the winter months here. I'll get to that here in a minute. Here are some photo's of the second dress, done in
a light weight linen. As you can see, the dress is almost done. It went together really fast today (aside from sewing the back of the skirt to the front of the bodice the first time...but we won't discuss that!!). The taffeta dress, and that ruffle, took me four days to complete. And yes, as I mentioned, worth every minute of the time it took. But I digress. The first sleeve is pinned in. The fabric was very particular in it's own way. It didn't want to stay on grain while I was cutting it. But with lots of pins and starch, it really came together quickly. You can see the option of the pleated scoop bodice instead of the ruffled one. The third photo shows the slit. I haven't hemmed it yet, and I do have it hanging up to help with the growth factor of linen. I debated cutting on the bias for the bodice portion, but since the grain is so finicky, I didn't want to chance it. I used sew in interfacing which worked well. I just basted it to the pieces I needed interfacing.
I love the color pallet on this fabric. I have a sort of olive green fabric in my stash that has been aging FOREVER that is a perfect compliment to this dress. I'm going to make a light weight coat using Simplicity 2508. And the thing about Houston is, it can get cold and chilly some days, so you need a jacket in the winter. You just don't need a fully lined coat. So look for some changes in the details on a later post for 2508. But what's really great, is that I already have a summer jacket that will work for the office to go with this dress! So it will transition nicely between seasons. I love this fabric, and have been waiting for the perfect pattern to cut into it with. I'm so happy to finally get to use this lovely fabric. I just need to run down to Wally World tomorrow and pick up a cream colored zipper. Or white. Either will work :)
First of all, the photo's don't do this dress justice. I chose to use taffeta because this is going to be my Christmas dress. As I mentioned earlier, I really wanted the green that I saw in another blogger's review. Alas, I couldn't find any. However, this navy blue really works for me.
I'll have to make sure to get photo's on Christmas. I'm wearing sparkly high heeled sandals too. It was in the low 70's here today, and while we're supposed to drop down to the 50's by Christmas day, it will be warm enough inside to take a picture! I was really worried that that taffeta would be too stiff. I even went up a size to accommodate for the lack of ease in the fabric. I think it was a good choice because the dress fits like a glove.
You can't see the pleats in the sleeve here and it "looks" wrinkled in the photo's. It's not. It's just that this taffeta is a very firm fabric. Very little drape.Unlike the "second" dress that I'm working on from this pattern!!!
For the second dress, I kept the puff sleeves (I can't go sleeveless at my office, too casual). I want the next dress to transition into summer. If you've never been to Houston in the summer, it's VERY humid here. And while I work in an air conditioned office building, I commute on the Metro. And I wait outside for the Metro. Comfort is a key factor for me. So the second dress is using the scoop neckline and pencil skirt. They call it a slim skirt, but it has all the looks of a pencil skirt to me, just with an attached bodice. I'm also making a jacket to coordinate with it for the winter months here. I'll get to that here in a minute. Here are some photo's of the second dress, done in
a light weight linen. As you can see, the dress is almost done. It went together really fast today (aside from sewing the back of the skirt to the front of the bodice the first time...but we won't discuss that!!). The taffeta dress, and that ruffle, took me four days to complete. And yes, as I mentioned, worth every minute of the time it took. But I digress. The first sleeve is pinned in. The fabric was very particular in it's own way. It didn't want to stay on grain while I was cutting it. But with lots of pins and starch, it really came together quickly. You can see the option of the pleated scoop bodice instead of the ruffled one. The third photo shows the slit. I haven't hemmed it yet, and I do have it hanging up to help with the growth factor of linen. I debated cutting on the bias for the bodice portion, but since the grain is so finicky, I didn't want to chance it. I used sew in interfacing which worked well. I just basted it to the pieces I needed interfacing.I love the color pallet on this fabric. I have a sort of olive green fabric in my stash that has been aging FOREVER that is a perfect compliment to this dress. I'm going to make a light weight coat using Simplicity 2508. And the thing about Houston is, it can get cold and chilly some days, so you need a jacket in the winter. You just don't need a fully lined coat. So look for some changes in the details on a later post for 2508. But what's really great, is that I already have a summer jacket that will work for the office to go with this dress! So it will transition nicely between seasons. I love this fabric, and have been waiting for the perfect pattern to cut into it with. I'm so happy to finally get to use this lovely fabric. I just need to run down to Wally World tomorrow and pick up a cream colored zipper. Or white. Either will work :)
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