Ottobre 03/2011 #18 Tropical Blend Sleeveless Dress

I was up very early this morning.  Mr. started a new job and thus our schedules have been thrown off a bit; couple that with the fact that I'm a very poor sleeper.  I decided to make this morning productive.  

On my massive list to sew is this sleeveless dress from Ottobre 03/2011 - #18. The dress reminds me of a dropped waist 20s dress.

**UPDATED 08/20/13 ** I cut a good 3-4 inches out of the dropped waist part and raised the ruffle skirt.  I like it much better now and K will get lots of wear out of it.

(new view)

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(old view on left, new view on right)

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(old)

Sizes run 92cm-146cm; I chose View B with the gathered skirt in size 146 for K who wears a size 8/10 RTW.

(old)

I chose to fully line the bodice instead of using facings – in retrospect, my fabric is heavy enough that I could have just used bias to face the neck and arm holes.  The bodice is a bit heavy due to the lining and fabric.  This makes the dress hang heavy and not flowy.

I made my own piping for the top with the same fabric as the hem.  The hem is cut on the bias.  I followed the directions – they were clear and easy to follow.  There is lots of top-stitching on this pattern – where skirt meets bodice, where hem meets skirt, where neckline is as well as the arm holes.  I used my serger to make the gathers on the skirt but in the end there was not a lot of them.

I chose to use buttons instead of snaps on the top of the bodice; due to the weight of it and the rambunctiousness of Miss  K I didn't want any accidents happening. She is well old enough at 7 to manage the buttons. 

I didn't have enough fabric to make out the skirt panels so the one is 2 inches skinnier than it should have been.  This caused the cakes to not match as well on the bottom there L.

Armholes, sigh. You can see right through them. 

Fabric: K chose this at one of our Hancock trips. It has wedding phrases on it plus the bride and groom on the cake.  It is a bit out there but she wouldn't let me leave without it; that girl has her own ideas.  The piping and hem are from a turquoise gingham check that I just picked up last week to go with this dress. Gingham was ½ yard for $2.50. Wedding fabric I'm not sure the price, but I had a little over 1½ yards.  Pattern called for just over a yard.  Since my fabric had a pattern I should have gotten 2 yards.

I’m still on the fence if I like this dress or not.  K has a long enough torso without adding in the dropped waist.  This looks a bit funny on her.  Also, this pattern reminds me of the Puppy and Flowers sundress I made her earlier this summer with a normal waist - I love it to pieces. 

Overall this was an easy make and I was glad to use up that wedding fabric, but I will most likely not use this pattern again. I'm honestly tempted to remove the skirt, shorten the bodice a good 6 inches and then attach the skirt again.

here it is on the cute little model in the book, see the waist is not that long....

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~