Two For One: Butterick 5997 and McCalls 7204

Friends, these are two projects that have been sewn for ages, but I just hadn't gotten around to photographing!

McCalls 7204 and Butterick 5997

Occasionally, I sew something that my husband just goes ga ga for.  This is one of those outfits!  When I downloaded the pictures, I realized that he had taken over 200 shots.  I can always tell how much he likes something I have sewn by the amount of photos he takes.

Butterick 5997 View B is actually quite long

As you can see here, McCalls 7204 (the cardigan) ended up being quite long.  I am five foot six inches tall.  This thing nearly drags the ground!  I did sew view B which is the longer of the two cardigans, but I was expecting mid thigh to knee, not mid shin!  I love it though.  I wish I remembered where I had purchased this Cerulean Blue knit fabric, because I would order more.  I just love it!

The tunic underneath is Butterick 5997.  This isn't the first Butterick 5997 that I have made.  I went sleeveless with this version though and it is so comfy.

Butterick 5997 Tunic in a Nani Iro Japanese Print

The fabric for this tunic is a double gauze that was purchased from a local quilt and fabric shop called Crimson Tate.  It is a Nani Iro print, and I love the combination of flowers and birds.  The color palette is just beautiful, too.  Unfortunately, it does not appear to still be available on the Crimson Tate website, but there are some other great Nani Iro prints still available.

I added three inch side slits to the shirt since I made it tunic length.  That just helps with some extra space for when you sit down.

Couldn't resist throwing in this photo taken during the golden hour!  Probably should have pressed the center line out before taking the photos, but I kind of forgot.

Would you believe that in August I cut almost 8 inches off my hair?

Yes, my Sperry's match.  The ground was much too soft for cute shoes.  In this photo you can see how the waist comes down at an angle on the cardigan.  You can also see just how long the cardigan really turned out.

One last photo for good measure!  The cardigan is so soft and lovely.  It will get plenty of use this Fall and Winter.

I won't go much in to the construction of Butterick 5997.  Aside from making the shirt sleeveless and using self binding to finish the armscye, I didn't make any changes from my previous version.  I keep saying I am going to make the pintuck version, and then I get lazy.

For McCalls 7204, I mostly followed the directions on the pattern.  I did add clear elastic to stabilize the shoulder seams and the waist seam.  I am really glad that I did this.  I think with this fabric the waist especially would have gone all wonky had I not.  I also cut the width of the front band/collar in half.  I didn't want it to fold back on itself.  I am glad that I made this change, and would continue it in to the next time I make McCalls 7204.  This was a really quick cut and sew.  Even with me hand rolling the hem (I also hand rolled the hem on Butterick 5997), the cardigan was made cut to finish in less than 3 hours.

I am really enjoying hand sewing lately.  Have any of you been doing much hand sewing?  I started my sewing career (ha) hand sewing at four years old.  I did a lot of embroidery and cross stitch back then.  I think now, I like the control that hand stitching gives me.  Sometimes I feel like my machine has a mind of it's own, and I am it's muse.

I think that I would like to next sew McCalls 7204 in a chunky sweater knit.  Let me know in the comments if you have seen any great sweater knits that I should have a look at.

Sewing the Back Pockets - Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans Sewalong

Friends, the first week of the Misty Jeans Sewalong is drawing to a close.  Are you making progress?  Have you even started?  I know that some of you have already got your jeans ready and are just waiting to see what kind of goodies might be coming in the end.  We will get to that soon enough.

For today, let's talk pockets.  Specifically the ones that are going to be on your behind.  As Megan pointed out a few posts back you may want to check the size of the pockets in comparison with some of your RTW jeans to see if they are to your liking.  You can easily size them up or down with a clear ruler.  Or trace the one's you like from your RTW jeans and then add a 3/8 inch seam allowance.  Let me know if you need help understanding how to do this, and I will break it down.

Today's step states, "Press back the seam allowance on the back pockets, stitch across the top with a twin needle stitch, pin the pocket to the back as marked on the pattern, once in place stitch around the pocket with a twin needle stitch."

Back Pocket with Top Edge Pressed Down

First thing you need to do is press the top of the seam allowance down for the pocket.  Remember only the Silk setting on your iron, and use your clapper, if you have one, to get a crisp fold.  Hold off on pressing the other sides of the pocket.

Twin Needle Stitching the Top Edge of the Back Pocket

Now, your twin needle should still be threaded and ready to go from our last post.  Go ahead and sew across the top of the pocket with the twin needle to get a nice clean finish to the top of your pocket.

Pinning Back the Pressed Seam Allowances on the Pockets

Better View of the Twin Needle Stitching at the Top of the Pockets

Now let's go ahead and press back the rest of the seam allowances.  I pressed the two bottom allowances first before pressing the sides in.  I feel like this gives a more neat appearance.  If you have a bulky denim, you may want to trim your seam allowances at the corners, just don't trim them too aggressively.

Now, this is the point that the way I do this differs from how it is laid out in Style Arc's directions.  When sewing pants/jeans I will finish them, put them on and then decide where to place the back pockets.  I have even learned to do this with welt pockets or dummy welts, because there have been some real placement issues.  For the sake of this sewalong, I am going to follow Style Arc's instructions, but then explain my method at the end.  Mmmm kay?

I told you not to mark your pocket placement back in the beginning, but now I am telling you, lay your pattern on top of your pattern piece and mark those pockets (or wait for my other method).

Pocket Placement Marked with Chalk

I pin the seam allowance under at all the corners, and then go ahead and pin the pocket to the pants at the two upper corners and at the center bottom of the pocket.

Pockets Pinned in Place

Back Pockets Pinned in Three Anchoring Points

The reason that Style Arc has you sew the pockets on at this point in construction is because you are carrying on with your twin needle eliminating the need to switch back and forth so much, and pockets are easier to sew in to your garment when your garment is still in the flat.  Do you all know what in the flat means?  In the flat is before you start sewing all the seams together that take your garment from 2 dimensional (flat) to 3 dimensional (having complex curves so as to envelop our curvy bodies).  Prime examples of seams that make garments 3 dimensional are inseams, outer/side seams, and crotch curves.  In shirts your 3 dimensional seams would be darts, sleeves...I hope that you get the idea.

Twin needle sewing of pockets can be a little tricky.  Most of us are used to pivoting our garment around the needle when the sewing takes a turn, but you can not leave a twin needle down and pivot since there are two needles there instead of one.

So you can either sew your twin needle edges as individual sides, or you can carefully lift your presser foot and pivot your fabric without the benefit of the needle being down in the fabric to hold your pivot point.

To sew them as individual sides, you will sew each edge as an individual seam, reversing your stitches at the beginning and end to anchor your thread.

First Seam Sewn

Here we have the first line of stitching finished.  Remember to reverse stitch at the beginning and end to anchor your stitches.  It is fine to reverse stitch when you are using a twin needle.

Aligning Needle to Start Second Seam

Line the right twin needle up with the right line of stitches.  You will have overlap on the left side stitches, which is what you want.

Second Seam Finished

This is what the first two finished seams look like.  You want to continue sewing these individual seams all the way around the pocket (remember not to sew the top of the pocket shut).

Finished Pocket

This is how your finished pocket will appear.  You can see where the inside row of stitching overlapped while the outside row lined up and connected to the previous row of stitches.

Example of Both Seam Methods - The outside set of Stitches is Pivoted and The Inside set of Stitches is Individual Seams

To sew the pockets with the pivoting method, you simply sew down one side to the lower edge (still anchoring at the beginning with a back and forth stitch), lift your presser foot and carefully turn your fabric so that the right line of stitching stays in line with the right needle, but your presser foot is lined up to sew in the direction of the next seam line.  Continue doing this as you work your way around the pocket until all the edges (except for the top) are sewn.

Starting to Stitch at the Top of the Back Pocket

Sewing Down to the Point at Which the Fabric will need to Pivot

Serger Sewists - You can do all this work on your serger if you have a coverstitch function.  I highly recommend putting your pockets on at this stage if you intend to use the coverstitch, because it will be monumentally harder to do once the inseam and side seams or outer seams are sewn.

Both Back Pieces with Back Pockets and Yokes Attached

We are all finished with this step.  Yay!  Our pants are starting to look like something that might actually be pants.  Albeit wavy ripply pants.  On October 23rd - Adding the Elastic Waistband and Finishing Touches, I will give a tutorial of how to set your back pockets once you have mostly finished the garment for those of you who would like to wait and place them where you personally would like them to be.

If any of you are sewing along and are at this step, please let me know how it is going and don't hesitate to mention any tips that you have or ask any questions.  Also, did you notice that my fabric has a word written all over it?  It wasn't until I was reviewing these pictures that I caught that.

Next step:  Sewing the Coin Pocket

Side Note:  I need to take my DSLR camera to be cleaned so I apologize for the mix of camera and phone pics.  My sensor is having a hard time focusing in certain lighting situations right now.

Misty Jeans Sewalong Schedule

Hello, Friends!  Sorry this wasn't up first thing this morning.  I have asked an associate of mine to help make the button for this Sewalong, and I have been waiting and waiting to get it.  So, I made the executive decision to go ahead and post the Misty Jeans Sewalong schedule without the button, and as soon as I get the button or go ahead and make a less cute one myself, I will post that for you all (I will make it this evening if I still haven't received anything).

Here is what our schedule looks like:

October 5-  Cutting out the Pattern
October 7-  Sewing the Yoke
October 9-  Sewing the Back Pockets
October 12-  Adding the Coin Pocket
October 14-  Facing the Pockets and Joining the Pocket Edges
October 16-  Sewing the Inseam
October 19-  Sewing the Crotch Seam and Mock Fly
October 21-  Sewing the Side Seams and Adjusting the Fit
October 23-  Adding the Elastic Waist, and the Finishing Touches
October 26- The Finished Product

I was going to do two separate postings for serging and straight sewing, but have decided to just include both versions in each step.  As we work along on this Sewalong, please feel free to post any questions here and I will do my best to help.  You can also contact me on Instagram.  If you are sewing along and want to post your progress, you can mark your photos with #mistyjeanssewalong #pandorasews or #stylearcmistyjeans.

Now, let's get ready to sew some jeans!

Running a Little Behind...Construction of B5997

Hello, Friends!  I know I am running behind getting this post up.  I have been in back to school mode for the last two weeks, and it seems like everything has revolved around that.  Somewhere in the middle of all that, we took a long weekend to celebrate my husband's birthday!  It has all been kind of a whirlwind.

As for the construction of B5997, here goes!

After reading about Mary's trials and tribulations while making this shirt on Idle Fancy and the Curvy Sewing Collective, I formed a plan.  I decided to use the Hugh Jass sleeves aka View D, but removed 4 inches from the width of the sleeve to get rid of that hideous puff at the shoulder.

B5997 folded to remove 4 inches of sleeve width

Then to reshape the shoulder edge of the sleeve, I used the sleeve from View B, to round the sleeve off nicely.

B5997 Sleeve being reshaped

Then, I just trimmed off the excess, and my new sleeve shape was born.  I was worried that I may have messed up the size of the sleeve at the armcsye, but I have to say this was probably one of the easiest sleeves I have ever set in.  Did I mention that this shirt was constructed with French seams?

B5997 Trimmed Sleeve

The lower edge of the sleeve also needed reshaping and I just chose to do that by eye.

B5997 Freehand trimming the lower sleeve edge.

B5997 Trimmed Lower Sleeve Edge

After getting my sleeve situation worked out, it was time to move on to the body of the tunic.  I had decided to use View A for the body with the gathered yoke shoulder.  As much as I love the look of pintucks, with the way my machine has been acting up, I was not sure that sewing pintucks was a good idea.

I was working from the size 24, but needed to add 1.5 inches to the bust (I decided to add a total of 3 inches for ease) and 12 inches at the hips.  I did a sort of modified FBA, that included adding the hip width all in one step.

To begin with, I drew my cutting lines on the pattern.  Because I needed to keep the armscye shape the same, and I wanted to keep the upper width that would connect to the yoke the same, I decided to hinge my pattern right at the corners of the armscye.

B5997 Adjustment Lines

After cutting the pattern on these lines, I taped the pattern to the table with the adjustments of +.75 inches at the bust line, and and +3 inches at the hip.  Over 4 seams that results in 3 inches at the bust and 12 inches at the hips.

B5997 Adjusted and Taped

Once the adjustments were made, I laid my Swedish tracing paper over top of the pattern and traced the outer edges, adjusting the bottom of the pattern to the correct shape.

B5997 Getting traced/being redrawn

This is the finished front pattern piece adjusted for my dimensions, and then reshaped at the bottom. When you adjust a pattern it is very important to transfer all the pattern markings to the correct places.

B5997 Finished Front Pattern Piece

Next up, I adjusted the back pattern piece with the same procedure as was used for the front pattern piece.  You will note that on the back piece there was no overlap between the armscye triangle and the lower right section.  Back pieces are shaped slightly different that front pieces (obviously), and in truth I probably could have drawn one line from the top of the armscye to the lower hem and adjusted the piece that way.  It just felt a bit more consistent to do the adjustment this way.

B5997 Back Pattern Piece Adjustment

This is the finished back piece.  Again, very important to transfer all those pattern markings.  Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the full piece.

B5997 Back Pattern Piece Adjusted and Marked

So, those were the adjustments that I made to Butterick's B5997 to make it better fit my plus size shape.

I would like to make this pattern in a sleeveless version, but will probably wait til next warm sewing season to do that.  I do intend to make a few more versions of this for the Fall.  Maybe if my machine will behave I will even make the pintuck version.  Some changes I will make:  I would like to add a little more fullness to the sleeve at the bicep.  Only maybe a half inch, and I would also like to open the armscye up about .75 inches.  Two minor tweaks that I think will make for a bit better fit through the biceps.  I can also see banding the sleeve now that we have taken the puffiness out.  I put a rubber band around the bottom of the sleeve to see how it would look, and I think that this is just the right amount of fullness for banding.

As touched on earlier, I used French seam construction for the entire garment, and finished my sleeves and hem with machine rolling.  In future makes of this pattern, I will continue to use the French seams (they just worked beautifully for this, even the gathers at the yoke went in like a dream) but will hand turn my hems.  Even with careful attention, I still have a slight ripple effect on the hem.

Just like Mary mentioned in her review, make sure to stay stitch your collar and v-neck edges, they can easily stretch.  Really, do it as soon as you cut the fabric!

All in all, I really like this pattern and am happy that I took the time to make the necessary adjustments.  This is the epitome of my style and I know it will get plenty of use.

So tell me friends, how do you go about drawing your pattern adjustments?  Do you trace, or put the pattern on top and draw around it?  Maybe you just add more paper to the actual pattern?

A Floral Tunic and Long Shorts - Butterick 5997 and Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts

Hello, Friends!  I have been so busy sewing the past few weeks, yet I haven't been posting many finished projects here.  With all the rain we have had lately, photo shoots have been near impossible.  So, when the sun peaked out this afternoon I knew it was time to photograph a few outfits!  Without further ado:

Please excuse my very squinty eyes, and extremely flat hair!  If ever there was a time that I should have worn sunglasses for a photo shoot, today was the day.  I had good Southern "higher the hair closer to God" hair going on, and the minute I walked in to the humidity it fell.  In less than a minute outside my hair and face were drenched.  Is it possible to have 110% humidity?  I told my husband we weren't breathing the air this afternoon, we were drinking it.

Enough about the weather, we are here to talk sewing.  Inspired my Mary over at Idle Fancy and her original version of Butterick 5997, I purchased this lovely floral voile from Mood Fabrics.  Let's talk about this fabric for a minute.  It is so soft and light and it just feels magnificent against the skin.  I am tempted to go back and buy it in the other color too!

Copenhagen/Baby Blue Floral Printed Cotton Voile  Photo from Moodfabric.com

Raspberry/Copenhagen Floral Printed Cotton Voile  Photo from Moodfabric.com

Here are some of the details for the Butterick 5997 tunic.  I decided to sew the View A tunic, and make some modifications to get a bell sleeve.  I intend to do a full on construction post later in the week, and I will spill all the details there as to how I made this tunic fit (because it certainly doesn't go up to my size), as well as some things I would change next time around.

I love the neckline of this tunic.  I have always been a fan of v-necks and love the Mandarin collar.  I decided to go with the view that has front shoulder yokes with gathers, as opposed to the pintucks that Mary went with.  I love the look of the pintucks, but since my machine has been acting up, I didn't want to need to sew something more precise.

Butterick 5997 Tunic with Gathered Shoulders and Mandarin Collar

I added a six inch side slit for sitting ease through the hips.  I think it is a shame that this pattern was not drafted with this feature, as any longer tunic should offer this option.

Butterick 5997 with added Side Slit

The back of the tunic has a shirttail hem, which is another detail that I love.  It is actually long enough to cover my whole derriere.

Butterick 5997

This tunic is my start to bridging my wardrobe towards Fall.  It is cool enough to wear now when I need sleeves, but will give me some coverage in the Fall that will layer well with a long sweater vest.  Again, I LOVE this fabric!  The tunic needs a few minor tweaks, but I am quite happy with it as well.

On to the shorts.  These are the Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts.  You may remember the first time that I made them here.  The ladies at Style Arc went above and beyond to fix the issues that I has with the original pattern.  I decided that I would trust the ladies' from Style Arc work and dove in to making these shorts in a Cerulean Blue twill that was in the stash, which has no stretch.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

As you can see above, the Jennifer City Shorts have a low front waist band.  The slash pockets surprisingly don't bulge.  These shorts may be a little long for some people's taste, but I quite like the length.  They would be easy enough to shorten though.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

As you can see, I have a very ample and rounded plus size behind.  I was very surprised that without any adjustments these shorts fit in the behind.  That never happens!  I love that little side slit in these shorts as well.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

I find the yoke in the back of the shorts to be very flattering.  There are again just a few minor tweaks the pattern needs to look smooth.  These are issues specific to my body and not the pattern's fault.

So friends, tell me are you already sewing with an eye towards Fall?

November Sewing Projects

Hello Friends!  I feel like it's been a month since I last posted.  November is here (how can it only be 50 days til Christmas???), and October went out with a bang.  Our Halloween was spent finding indoor trunk or treat locations, because it was snowing and windy.  Can you believe it...snow already?  We visited a few senior retirement communities, and the little guy's gangster costume was a big hit with the older crowd.  They were calling him a G man, and make all kinds of jokes with him.  He hated the attention, but loved the candy!

The forecast here is looking cold.  I think we may be in for another brutal Winter here in Indy!  With that in mind, I am trying to think about what items are wardrobe musts for this Winter.

I intend to make a couple more Laurel Tunics from Green Style.  I kind of half arsed reviewed the pattern here.  This time I will be making it in a few sweater knits.  I love leggings and long shirts in the Fall and Winter.  So these Laurel Tunics will be in heavy rotation.

Photo from www.greenstylecreations.com

I think that these are the knits that I am going to use to make more Laurels.  I know the stripey floral is more of a Spring print, but I just don't care.  I make what I like, when I like! ;)

Whats on the cutting table?

I am in search of cable knit by the yard because I think it would make a beautiful Laurel, and if all else fails I see a king size cable knit blanket being made in to something fab to wear.


There is also a chambray tunic with leather details on the November sewing list.  I will be using McCalls M6885 and cutting it down to tunic length.  A long tunic that will cover all my bits when I wear leggings of course!  I will be making view D minus the waist tie, and with the addition of placket sleeves.

I don't have a link or pic of the fabric, but it is just a basic dark blue chambray.  I am not sure what color my leather details will be as there is a lot of leather floating around the sewing haven waiting to be re-purposed.

I will also be working on a shirt dress for Mary's Autumn of 1,000 Shirt Dresses project.  I have the fabric for this and I think I have settled on a pattern too, but this one is a surprise, so no sneak peaks on this one.

I have a fabric in the stash that is begging to be made in to a cape, but I am not sure if I will get around to this.  I seem to be gravitating towards easy sews right now, and this is a woven hounds tooth that is going to be a pain to sew.

You would think with the Holidays drawing near, I would be doing some unselfish sewing in November too, but I just am not feeling like making gifts yet.  I am sure December will roll around and I will be in panic mode making gifts for others.

So friends, what is on your sewing list this month?  Do any of you have a source for cable knit by the yard that you care to share?  

Green Style Creations Laurel Tunic - Plus Size Pattern

If you aren't familiar with Green Style Creations patterns you should check them out.  I have no affiliation with them, though I would happily pattern test for them if they asked me to she says as she bats her eyes.  Green Style's patterns go XXS to 3XL and then some of their patterns also go from 1X to 3X in addition to that.  The raglan tee that I made went to a full on 3X which is different sizing than the 3XL.  I know that it is a little confusing, but they do offer a broad range of sizes on some of their patterns.  I am hoping that if some more of us Curvy Divas start sewing and blogging about their patterns they will continue to grade up to 3X.  It is a very generous 3X BTW.  I am normally a 3X size 24 to 26 in RTW, and their 3X was flat out too big for me.  That is good news for us curvier gals though who generally have the exact opposite issue.

Back to the Laurel Tunic.  This pattern goes up to a 3XL (the smaller of the X sizing).  Based on how large the the raglan tee was, I decided to give it a try and cut it in the 3XL that is supposed to fit a 46 to 47 inch full bust.  For full disclosure I am 5'6", and my measurements are as follows:

HB- 47 inches
FB- 52 inches
W- 50 inches (this includes my current steroid bloat)
H- 64 inches

Here is the finished product!

Yes, I apologize for no makeup.

And the greasy Granny hair!

It appears to be pulling at the armscye across the bust, but it really wasn't.  I just forgot to pull it down, and didn't even look in the mirror after putting the shirt on.  Per my usual I left the sleeves a little long to account for further shrinkage.  I cut the knee length dress, but knew that it would be perfect tunic length for me.  I ended up serging about 7/8 of an inch off the length, but that was it.  A curvy girl's body takes up more length than her less curvy counterparts!

I really like it and this pattern is for sure a keeper.  My hubby is just gonzo over this shirt and wants me to make it in every color imaginable.  It will be perfect paired with leggings or jeggings and tall black boots.

Now for the fiddly bits...

As mentioned earlier I cut the 3XL in this shirt.  I followed most of the pattern directions except I serged the pleats instead of basting them on my regular machine, and I ironed the pleats in prior to serging.  For the back of the tunic you have the choice of cutting a smaller piece and having a flat seam at the bodice or cutting it the same as the front and putting pleats in the back as well.  I opted to cut the piece to be pleated, because I needed the extra inches for hip space.  If you had a smaller waist to hip ratio you could easily cut the straight piece instead.  Next time I make this I may gather the center back instead of pleating it, just for a change in design element.

The pattern directions call for set in sleeves, but I decided to sew them flat, because that is just my preferred method.  My order of sewing was 1.  Sew shoulder seams, 2. Serge pleats, 3. Serge pleated bottom of shirt to bodice, 4. Serge sleeves in the flat, 5. Serge side seams from hem bottom to sleeve cuff edge 6. Serge raw edges of hem and sleeves, 7. Serge in the cowl neck, and 8. Twin needle the hem and cuffs.  It was pretty straight forward and went together in less than an hour.

Would I recommend this pattern to a friend?  Absolutely.  It went together like a dream.

Will I be making this pattern again?  Certainly.  I see this getting a lot of wear over the cooler months and there are many colors that I need this in.  It has all the comfort of a snuggly t-shirt but with a much more sophisticated profile.

Have any of you made this pattern?  If so what were your results?

Two last bits of business...Thank you so much to everyone who has been voting for me on the CSC Wrapalong.  It is going well, and at this moment I am very hopeful that I might be one of the top dresses, but there are still 3 agonizing days of voting left, and a lot can change in three days.

Also, Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes.  I wound up back at the doc today and I now have pneumonia...or walking pneumonia.  Funny thing is I feel better now than I did back when I only had bronchitis, but the steroids and breathing treatments are making me swell and bloat like a dead carp!  Oy!  Point is, I am actually feeling better, and Thank You all so very much for your well wishes!

Vogue 8784 Wrap Dress - Curvy Sewing Collective Wrapalong

Sorry that it has been like crickets around here lately!  I have a pretty nasty case of bronchitis, and were it not for the deadline of needing to get this posted for the Curvy Sewing Collective's Wrapalong, I would not be posting right now.

I will start with the end result:

If my cheeks are a little red, it is not because I have blush on.  We were doing this shoot between coughing spells and wheezing fits.

All in all I like the dress.  Any dress that I can wear patent heels with makes me happy.  The ponte that I used for this dress is actually heavier than I realized but with 50 degree days setting in here in Indy, it just isn't a problem.  I think the dress will be great for Holiday parties and gatherings.

I love the length of the dress.  Normally I find that dresses that aren't really cut for plus size gals tend to be shorter than I would like, but this one covers just enough knee.

Obviously it makes me happy!  And even leaning forward there was no gaping neckline.  What's not to love?  

I will be posting this on the Curvy Sewing Collective Wrapalong page, so make sure you go give me a vote when voting opens.

Now for the pattern.  Vogue 8784 only goes up to a size 22 so there was a bit of grading to be done.  For the bodice I added an inch at each of the side seams, resulting in 4 extra inches.  I also added an extra inch at each of the side seams of the skirt for a total of 4 inches there as well.  The back of the bodice of the dress is actually three pieces and I like the way it added to the shaping of the dress.  

I was able to sew most of the dress on the serger which made it come together very quickly.  I decided to hand sew the hem and sleeve cuffs because this textured fabric would not have been happy to have topstitching.  I hand picked both so there is no seam showing on the exterior of the dress.  I did not line the dress as called for in the pattern and instead finished the edges with a contrast black band that I decided to run all the way to the hem.  Were I making it again, I think I would consider going with a thicker band for more contrast, but ya'll I just love the richness of this fabric.

I was surprised at how well the pattern ended up working for me, and would surely make it again.  Next time I will tie the tie on the correct side and just blame this faux pas on the cough syrup.

So tell me friends, what do you think?