At last count, I have 47 spring/summer dresses. This doesn't include anything from fall or winter I think there's only 10 - 12 of those. Some people my mom think this is ridiculous because no one needs that many dresses. My theory is that there are 365 days in the year and I'm nowhere near close to having one for every day of the year, so there really isn't an issue. Right?!
So last weekend I made another dress.
A few weeks ago Love Notions had their Sonata Dress as their $5 feature Friday. It's one of the few patterns from them I didn't own. And I know why. The first dress in their photo gallery for this pattern has yellow contrast band at the neckline. And I hate yellow. So I haven't even been tempted to click on the pattern or look at other makers versions. Dumb I know, but that's how much I hate yellow. The thing is, though, when they have their $5 feature Friday pattern, their ambassadors share their makes of the pattern and I'm almost 99% guaranteed to want it then This dress was no exception.
As you can see, this dress has several sleeve options, like all of Love Notions patterns do, as well as two neckline options. I really, really like that it's drafted for all cup sizes, FBA's are not my area of expertise (maybe a goal for 2021 since I always need one?!) and this one was spot on.
While the different cup sizes are fantastic, like all patterns I've ever sewn, I'm too tall for the standard block it's drafted for. And at 5'9", I don't consider myself to be freakishly tall. But certainly taller than any patterns are drafted for. So I thought I would take a moment to walk through some of the standard fitting changes I make to most patterns.
One of the things I love to use most when I'm doing fitting adjustments is leftover wrapping paper that has the grid pattern on the back. I typically buy up loads of it on Black Friday at Michael's. I used to use the medical paper that I could buy by the roll on Amazon, but I realized the heavier wrapping paper was a better option and I really like the grid on the back for getting everything lined up precisely. So that's what your seeing here.
Torso adjustment - This is an empire waist. I wanted the line to fall below my bust, not ON my bust. Sometimes I need to add a full inch in the torso, other times not. For this particular pattern, I only needed a half an inch. One thing I noted in the instructions was that if you made changes in the length for the torso, you might need to adjust the waist dart, which was designed to hit 1-1.5 inches below the bust point. The top red arrow points towards the 1/2 inch adjustment right below the bust dart (I'm SO glad I didn't need to move that dart!!) The bottom arrow shows where I moved the dart up 1/2 and inch. My math was good and these adjustments were exactly what I needed for the perfect fit
Whatever you do to the front to lengthen, you have to do to the back as well! I measured down from the top of the armscye and added the same 1/2 inch. Again, this worked perfectly for me on the final garment and I'm very pleased that everything lined up perfectly.
Then there was my "ugh" moment.
See, I don't always buy fabric with a pattern in mind. Sometimes a fabric speaks to me and I must have it (please tell me I'm not alone!!) This blue flower challis was a remnant piece from LA Finch Fabrics that I bought last fall. It was 2 1/2 yards, which I can do a lot of things with. But this pattern calls for 3 yards for the flutter sleeves. Even with pattern Tetris, I just couldn't get the back piece to fit on the fold. So I had to add a seam allowance in the back, Thankfully, it's barely noticeable on the final dress and at the same time, doesn't look out of place if you do notice it. Win/Win!!
The other change I made was to add 2 inches to the skirt lengthen line. I didn't need 2 inches. If I had left the one inch hem, folded up at the 1/2 line, folded a second time, and pressed down, it would have been fine. But I like a solid 1" hem on a dress. I just think dresses hang nicer. So I added two inches, pressing a half inch, and then a full inch. I didn't take photos of this. I think most people know how to lengthen a hemline to their liking
Here is the completed bodice The V looks like a U here but looks perfect when the dress is on.. I did notice, belatedly, that the flowers run on a diagonal on the grain.. It was a lucky coincidence that the bust darts didn't' break up the diagonal line. But we can pretend it was excellent planning and intentional, right!?!
The final dress:
Can I tell you this is much cuter on and styled? I wore it to work with a white cardigan and navy blue flats. BUT! It looks equally good with my brown cowboy boots (it's Texas after all!!) a brown belt, and a denim jacket. I can easily see a few more of these in my summer desses!
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