It's a wrap ...

I suspect I'm probably the last person in the world to make V8379.  In keeping with the FrankenPattern Pledge I decided it was time.  I cut a size 10 and made a few alterations.  I could tell that the bodice would be too short, so I've lengthened it by about 2.5cm (which with this fabric I could have forgone) and I shortened the skirt by about 5cm.  I also took quite a lot of fullness from the skirt as I don't like it too swishy.  You may recall from last week that I dislike 3/4 sleeves, so I frankenpatterned the sleeve head from V8379 with the arm from my beloved KS3338 t-shirt.  I didn't use the collar because I don't like it and I didn't use the facings, instead I twin needled a hem over clear elastic.  I haven't hemmed the sleeves or skirt because this fabric stretches way too much and I didn't want a wavy hem.

The fabric is a heavy slinky knit I bought from Fabric.com about 4 years ago for $1.99 a yard, so it also sits nicely with the Franken Pattern Pledge and creates room in the fabric cupboard.  I had thought of including this in my SWAP, but I didn't know what to use it for.  The weight of this knit has meant it wasn't suitable for most things I had thought I could use it for, so it's sat in my stash waiting for the right thing.

I'm not sure if it's a result of the very stretchy fabric, but this dress is a little large.  It may be just because the weight pulls it down.  I sewed ribbon into the shoulder and waist seams to help keep the shape.  I normally keep a large quantity of cotton twill tape on hand  for this purpose, but I ran out.  Of course, Spotlight doesn't have any.  I wandered around in there cursing under my breath looking for something I could use and came across the craft section.  I ended up buying these two rolls of craft ribbon for 99c each.  There is 4m in a roll and you can get all sorts of colours and a few different widths (I used 6mm wide), so I think I'll go back and buy every colour.  The ribbon looks a whole lot nicer than the twill tape I've been using and if I can colour co-ordinate, then so much the better.


I've spent the majority of my day cutting out a jacket and lining, so I hope to start work on that during the week.  Then the search for buttons will begin.

Comments

Sharon said…
Great dress and no you aren't the last to make it, but then I don't even have the pattern :)

Good idea for the ribbon and at that price all the colours will be perfect for the stash.

Have you a trip planned to Melbourne soon, there are a couple of great button places you will need to check out.
June 3, 2012 at 11:18 PM
BeckyMc said…
Great dress! THe long sleeves and straighter skirt make it very like Kate Middleton's engagement dress. Heavy slinky is very hard to hem without waves. I have conquered it with THe MacPhee WOrkshop's technique. Use a strip of fusible web (in the U.S. the brand names are Stitch Witchery, Steam-a-Seam 2, or Heat and Bond). Fuse the strip to the hem edge, peel the paper, fuse the hem into place. Then stitch with your twin needle. NIce stable hem with no distortion. I depend on this technique as I don't own a coverstitch machine. Hope it helps.
June 4, 2012 at 6:11 AM
Summer Flies said…
I saw this last night and think it is really lovely. I also love your black dress in the previous post and wonder how you thought to put in a gusset? I have never used one but maybe I should read up about them. I also like your Spotlight comments - I wrote to them the other week asking what was the point of their website when you can't look at any stock and you really can't order well online etc. Got a fuzzy sort of answer of course. I like the ribbon idea and also out of necessity had to use it one day because I didn't have twill tape either.
June 4, 2012 at 9:49 AM
Gail said…
What a beautiful colour. Wrap dresses seem so hard to achieve just the fit we want. I think it is a combination of the fabric weight and the cut.
June 5, 2012 at 4:54 PM
The Slapdash Sewist said…
Love the dress! It looks like it will be a wardrobe staple.
June 6, 2012 at 5:50 AM
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