Modifications to the Pattern

Overall the dress pattern is awesome, especially for the first try. However, there are some things I want to remember when I make the next two.

1. The shoulder seams are off by an inch or so. The shoulder seam should be right at the top of the dress when on a hanger, but it isn't. The seams are about 1 inch to the back. This made the dress a bit shorter than it should have been.

2. We didn't factor in the darts when figuring the length the pattern. As a result, I had to trim about 3 inches off the back. The triangle for the bust was 3.75 inches.

3. The neckline is okay, but the dress we copied had a lower neckline. I don't wear any clothing which exposes cleavage, so the higher neckline is fine, but I would like to try the next pattern with a bit lower neckline. I like the look of buttoning the cardigan and then a bit of skin shows before the neckline.

4. I would like to research how to sew the slit seams on the lower bottom of the dress. I finessed it, but there is probably a better way.

Here's the new material, first the purple. This is the material I started out to buy, but my local Walmart didn't have it in stock. So when dh and I went into the big city on Saturday I stopped at a Walmart there and found it, as well as the rust. My local Walmart has the red. Maybe I'll get some of that one, too.

And here's a howdy from Daisy Mae.

I would really like to find a pattern that I like for a jacket for the dresses. It seems like it will be easier to follow a "real" pattern than wing it, at least for a jacket, which seems more complicated.

I think it would also be neat to make the jackets and then buy enough material to make skirts. Or another idea I have is to make a plain black long dress with sleeves and make a long vest using this material. Maybe not all the ideas with all the colors.

Until next time.